MAGA influencer Tim Ballard, the self-proclaimed anti-trafficking activist who has faced multiple allegations of sexual abuse, has been hit with a federal lawsuit charging him with human trafficking.

Ballard, a far-right conspiracy theorist, was the inspiration for last year’s adjacent QAnon film “Sound of Freedom”, a fictitious version of his group’s alleged anti-sex-trafficking activities. Helped turn Trump into a MAGA hero too said at a rally in 2023, the film inspired some of his policy proposals.

Amid allegations that he forced several women to act as their “wives” and have sex with him, Ballard resigned last September from the organization he founded in Utah, Operation Underground Railroad (OUR). (Ballard continued to work with a separate anti-sex-trafficking organization.) More women sued Ballard for sexual misconduct last year. He vehemently denied the claims; some of DRESS have been since dismissed, but others remain. He was too the subject of several criminal investigations (The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said New York Times in September was aware of “pending criminal investigations into Tim Ballard”), but no charges have been filed to date.

Ballard filed defamation lawsuits against seven of his accusers earlier this month. Now six of them have filed another lawsuit accusing Ballard of Human Trafficking.

In processthe plaintiffs allege that Ballard used a deceptive tactic known as the “couple trick” — pitched to them as a way to catch potential sex traffickers — to sexually exploit them.

“Under the guise of philanthropic missions or ‘operations’ to rescue women and children from human trafficking, Ballard used his position of influence and trust to exploit vulnerable individuals,” the suit says. “Ballard specifically targeted women for sex, labor and other services in violation of federal anti-trafficking laws.” The lawsuit defines the “couples ruse” as “a deceptive strategy in which female operators were forced to simulate intimate relationships with Ballard in order to fool traffickers.”

The plaintiffs allege that Ballard boosted his legitimacy in their eyes by introducing him to powerful social and political figures such as Utah Rep. Burgess Owens and right-wing commentator Glenn Beck, but that Ballard abused their trust to coerce them into doing acts sexual.

The suit continues:

The lawsuit alleges a pattern of disturbing behavior, alleging that Ballard would talk to the women about his wife’s refusal to perform certain sexual acts with him because of her religious beliefs, and that he claimed these conversations were necessary to enhance the couples ruse. The lawsuit accuses Ballard of coercing women into sexual encounters, pressuring them to “practice” physical intimacy. He also claims that Ballard manipulated them by pitting them against each other. The lawsuit alleges that the texts between Ballard and some of the accusers appear to blur the line between anti-trafficking work and a private sexual relationship. The suit also includes an audio clip of Ballard’s attorney telling a judge that Ballard’s sperm was on an accuser’s skirt because he masturbated into it.

A spokesman for Operation Underground Railroad, which is named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, Fox 13 said that the new allegations “are recycled claims that have been repeatedly dismissed. We are confident they will be dismissed again.” Ballard’s attorney echoed that response, saying his accusers engaged in “desperate forum shopping” to repeat “the same allegations that judge after judge called inconsistent and unsupported by the facts.”

As all of this plays out, let’s not ignore how bad this looks for the MAGA movement, which has made a habit of baselessly accusing liberals of being “the toilet attendants” and sex traffickers: One of the biggest street vendors of conspiracy theories about human trafficking was accused of human trafficking.