The Daily Signal - The Other Side of J6: 'Capitol Punishment' Movie Tells Stories You Won't Hear From Congress

Episode Date: May 31, 2022

During the month of June, lawmakers in Washington plan to hold six public hearings on the events that took place on January 6. Two of them are even scheduled during primetime TV in an effort by Democrats to maximize their attempt to frame what happened that day at the U.S. Capitol. But there’s another side to the story that you won’t hear from the likes of Reps. Bennie Thompson, Adam Schiff, Liz Cheney, or other members of the House select committee. They determined long ago who to blame and what narrative to tell. Now, thanks to a new documentary called “Capitol Punishment,” Americans are able to hear stories from the people who were there on January 6—in their own words and the ordeals they’ve faced since that day. Joining "The Daily Signal Podcast" are two people who made the movie—actor Nick Searcy and director Chris Burgard. The movie is available to watch at givemelibertynow.org and capitolpunishmentthemovie.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Single podcast for Tuesday, May 31st. I'm Virginia Allen. And I'm Rob Blewey. On today's show, I talk with Nick Searcy and Chris Burgard about their movie, Capital Punishment. With the January 6th committee hearings starting next week, they share a different perspective from what you're going to hear from Democrats in Congress. We also read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about how one elderly man's determination on the basketball court is inspiring others. But before we get to today's show, Rob and I want to tell you all about another great podcast on the Heritage Foundation Podcast Network, The Kevin Roberts Show. Dr. Kevin Roberts is the president of the Heritage Foundation, and now you can hear his political analysis on the most important issues facing America. Each weekly episode of the Kevin Roberts Show is a rallying cry for lovers of freedom everywhere. The show is packed with analysis on the issues of the day and deep conversations with the movers and shakers of American politics.

and culture. New shows are available every Wednesday. You can find the Kevin Roberts show on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen. We even put the full episode on YouTube. Now stay tuned for today's show. Coming up next. During the month of June, lawmakers in Washington plan to hold six public hearings on the events that took place on January 6th. Two of them are even scheduled during primetime TV in an effort by Democrats to maximize their attempt to frame what happened that day at the U.S. Capitol. But there's another side of the story that you won't hear. hear from the likes of Congressman Benny Thompson, Adam Schiff, Liz Cheney, or other members of the House Select Committee. They determined long ago who to blame and what narrative to tell. Now,

thanks to a new documentary called Capital Punishment, Americans are able to hear stories from the people who were there on January 6th, in their own words, and the ordeals they faced since that day. Let's listen to a clip from the film. These are domestic terrorists. The sixth was all deception. The level of sophistication, Pacted. People were putting on Trump stuff beforehand

or taking it off afterward. This is treason. They want to criminalize dissent. I open the shutters that had the battering ram. So I hear... Then they told me to come out, a whole bunch of red dots all over my chest. They're hunting down Trump supporters. They're like dogs.

We've been screaming, we've been fighting. But now I want you to party with me. I spent the next three weeks in jail. They put me in a cell by myself, total solitary confinement in a cell not much bigger than a walk-in closet. FBI, guns drawn. Hands up, hands up, hands up! Put your hands on the wall! Hands on the wall!

This is psychological warfare. It didn't have a battering ram in it, but what it did have was turd on top. He was pointing his gun at all my neighbors ready to pull up. any time he needed to. They can't come. Joining us today are two people who made the movie, actor Nick Searcy and director Chris Burgard. Welcome to both of you.

It's great to have you on the Daily Signal podcast. Thanks, Rob. Good to be here. Good to be had, Rob. Let's start at the beginning. Let's go back to that day on January 6th. What was your experience in Washington, D.C. like on that day? Well, part of the reason we wanted to make the movie is that,

Chris and I were both there, and we were in different places. And our experience on that day was so different from what the media was showing us. We saw people hundreds of thousands of people, biggest crowd I've ever seen. And most of them were singing hymns and saying the Pledge of Allegiance and waving flags. And I saw people of all races, all creeds. It was a very happy, joyful time, really. And then as the day went on and after the speech was over, I personally saw the police moving barricades and allowing people to go into the Capitol. So the things that we saw on television that it was a few hundred crazed right-wing Trump-supporting white supremacists was not anything like what I saw when I was there.

Yeah, Rob, it was the difference in what we saw. that day versus what was on the news was so dramatic that we just couldn't just sit by and watch a day in history and the government be stolen. I had been in Central America during an attempted regime change previously and my bells and whistles were going off, especially when Nick called me and said, you know, they just moved the barricades or letting people in the Capitol. I just said to my wife, I said, look, we were so marching down to the Capitol. Nick was ahead of us. I said to my wife, I said, look at all these peaceful images. Look at this, you know, over a million people here.

And there's no cameras. You know, that leads me to believe that there's going to be an orchestrated event at the end of this. And that's the agenda is that they want to run with. And when Nick called just at that time and said, look, they're moving the bike racks. They're letting people in. I looked to my wife. And I said, I got bad deja vu, and I'm afraid someone's going to die today. And that's exactly what it was.

It was just a day of orchestrated events that anybody who knew what they were looking for saw it. I mean, we saw people changing from Antifa Black Block into Magal clothes. These same people were trying to get us to attack the police, the Capitol Police. We said no. And when we went to the FBI that was on the ground and said, hey, you've got bad guys here trying to start violence and recruit others to violence. Do you want me to show you who they are? The FBI said, no. I'm like, do you want to take a report?

My family can give you witness. I was there with my wife and my daughter, and the FBI agents on the ground just said, no, we're okay, thank you. So it was clearly a disconnect. One of the thing that strikes me as I watched the film, and I think so many of the people who do will see this with their own eyes, are the many images and the videos that you have collected and compiled into this one powerful documentary. I'd be curious to hear a little bit more about the process for how you put the film together. But before we get to that, share a little bit more. more about the types of people who you interacted with on that day?

Like I said, most of the people there were very patriotic people. They were, and people of all races and creeds, and they were not there to cause any violence. And they had come to make their voices heard, that they believed that there were things about the election that didn't make sense. They wanted the certification to be paused for 10 days so that this could be. investigated. They weren't there to disrupt any process that was going on in the Senate, which is what most of them have been charged with, is trying to disrupt an official proceeding. They wanted what was happening in the joint session of

Congress to happen. Ted Cruz and Josh Howley and other people were making the argument that this needs to be paused for 10 days. There's no reason for the people that came there to make that happen for them to disrupt the proceeding, which made us begin to put together when we were making the film that the fact of the matter is, the people that were trying to disrupt the proceeding or the people that went into the

or instigated people to go into the Capitol building were not people that supported Donald Trump. They were not people that wanted the proceedings to be stopped. And what happened? As soon as the capital was breached and all the

violence happened, they suspended the session of Congress, and they went ahead and certified the election. We can't have any more discussion. It's too dangerous. So the people that went inside, a majority of them, I would say, at least a significant number of them, were not Trump supporters. Yeah, Rob, it was pretty obvious. You saw this mass of possibly up to 2 million people headed to the Capitol. And if you could have seen, and picture a huge herd of cattle, But this cattle was mostly, there was a lot of church groups there, families, two and three generations of folks. And then there was a lot of groups from former communist country.

People had escaped communist countries. There were Chinese organizations on the ground. There were Americans, nationals who were Vietnamese heritage, all these different groups saying how great. America was and and warning against China and warning against this country moving to socialism because they had escaped that and come to America. There was just so many good kids there with their parents. And like Nick said earlier, they were praying, they were singing. And the people that you saw at the Trump rally, the people you saw around the Washington Monument, the people that you're with marching to the Capitol building is a completely different crowd than what

we've been seeing over and over again in the attack videos. Just for your audience alone, anybody that looks at video of what happened at the Capitol, if the people had a mask on or if the mask was dropped below their chins, they were probably operatives. They were in there to capture this operation because we went through almost two million people waiting to go see Trump, seeing Trump and marching back, and I think I saw maybe seven or eight people wearing masks. I mean, the Trump supporters just weren't wearing him. No, because we, you know, Trump supporters are heartless. And remember, we want grandmas to die.

We won't wear our masks. Nick, tell me about the various people that you feature in the movie. Well, as the movie went on, we started talking to people who had their doors broken down by the FBI. And we interviewed a number of people, Derek Kennison, Tony Martinez, a man named Easton Cantwell, Simone Gold, the America's frontline doctors. And all of these stories were pretty similar. 6 a.m., no phone call, no nothing. FBI shows up at their door.

In Derek and Tony's cases, they came with an overwhelming show of force, armored vehicles driving through their little suburban neighborhood, battering rams, flashbag and grenades. They treated these people as if they were drug cartel members or leaders or serial killers. And most of these people had never been arrested for anything in their lives. And as they tell their stories in the movie, you start to ask yourself the question, what is the government doing? Why is the government treating these people this way?

When Simone Gold even says so in the movie, somebody like her who's a public figure, no history of violence, they could have just called. If the government was concerned about my actions or behavior, somebody like me who's not violent and has never been accused ever of anything violent, you would expect a phone call. Very easy to track down. So in no way, shape, or form was I expecting the FBI to scare me to death and break down my door?

With 20 guys, a dozen guns, long, big machine. machine guns pointed at me. It was so over the top, there's still no words to describe it. At what point were you contacted? By the scariest, most aggressive pounding on the door that I think I've ever heard, preceded by the door being literally broken down and busted through in a matter of 60 seconds or so with screams of FBI, FBI. It's not yelling.

This is not like normal yelling. This is like screaming at the top of your lungs. It's like a death scream. It's so scary when it is. They're bursting in the door. And then like six feet for me is a big guy, FBI, guns drawn. Ten or 12 people that rushed in immediately with automatic rifles and screaming at the top of their lungs, like full battle gear. That was pretty good.

It was about twice that, that decimal, but like that, about twice that. Bigger? Okay. But that was quite loud. Yeah. Yeah. It was very, about, yeah, that was close. Close to that, okay.

Then what happens? Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. It's like giving me PTSD. Like honestly. It's like so scary. It was so, and I froze, and it completely froze.

And I leap up and I just kind of stood there. And then they're like, we're gonna break the door down. We're gonna break the door down. I'm like, hang on. And we're turning around to open the door and they broke the door down. And so then what? They just sort of, this is when they started-

Hands up, hands up! Put your hands on the wall! Hands on the wall! Turn around! Turn around! Really scary. Really scary. You were right there and you turned around. Basically right where Sarah is. You back up against that wall and they cuff you right me. It's giving me a heart attack. It's like so scary. This is a, like a terror tactic. They're trying to instill fear in the citizenry that if you stand up to the government or if you stand up and say, I believe that the election was stolen and shouldn't have been certain,

certified, then you are committing some vile act and the government is going to come down on you and treat you like this. And they're trying to send a message to everybody, do not ever resist us again, or this is what will happen to you. And this is an ongoing terror campaign against these people. There's still people in jail that have been there for over a year, most of whom are charged with misdemeanors, and the people in our movie are still going through their trials. and this is judicial harassment. These people don't have much of a chance. They are facing a D.C. jury.

They have to have a D.C. attorney because of the rules in the District of Columbia and a D.C. judge. All of these are 96% Democrat, all of whom hate Trump, all of whom are biased against Trump supporters. So they go in with all these charges against them, and they try to get these people to take a plea deal, so that they don't face 80 years in prison or something insane. And most of the people in our movie never even went in the building. The only two people that went in the building are two 74-year-old twin-sister grandmothers who went into the building, asked the police if they could be there.

They took a couple of pictures. They walked out, and three weeks later, the FBI is banging on their door. This is a terror campaign against American citizens who disagree with the Democrat Party. Chris, let me ask a follow-up question to that. As you went through the process of identifying the people to feature in the film, what was it like talking to them, getting them to tell their stories? And some of them may be apprehensive to speak publicly about this, given the circumstances that they currently face, as Nick said, awaiting their judgment.

Never underestimate the power of fear to control people. Because there were more people than we put in the movie that didn't go in the movie. because they were so afraid. We actually had to take one person out of the film who did not go into the Capitol. He was former law enforcement. He was retired police chief, and we thought he was going to be the strongest guy in the whole film.

And over the course of our production, what happened to him and the continuing pressure that the government put on him, he backed out of the film. So the folks that are still in the film, the biggest thing I can say about them is what good people they are and how brave they are.

You know, a common thread we saw on this. Like Nick was saying, Tony Martinez and Derek Kinnison never went into the building. But what did they have in common? And what does some of the other people who were arrested have in common? They were leaders in putting together Trump caravans or helping their community small business band together when BLM was coming to protest in their communities or put together anti-mask rallies. But they didn't go. inside the Capitol. So then you have to ask yourself, well, what's going on here? Are they really going after people they think broke the law? Or is this a political purge? And that's something we saw. Like with Simone Gold. I mean, why did they arrest Simone Gold? Because, you know, she followed the crowd into the

building when the police said it was okay. Or did they arrest her because she had previously stood on the steps of the Supreme Court with a bunch of other frontline doctors and said, this pandemic is a hoax. This pandemic is treatable. If we use common sense in good medicine, no one has to die. That's what we saw over and over. One of the most powerful parts of the movie, and in my experience, was hearing from Aaron Babbitt, the husband of Ashley Babbitt who tragically died on that day. Nick, start with you. What was the experience like talking to Aaron and hearing his perspective on this? It's so, it was overwhelming. I mean, he, What the media has done to Ashley Babbitt after she was murdered is as much of a crime as her actual death.

They have vilified her as some sort of rabid Trump-supporting zealot. And in fact, nothing can be further from the truth. Footage that we've found since the movie was released of what she was doing before she was killed, was she was telling the people to stop breaking the doors, stop trying to break in. She was talking to the police saying, we need more reinforcements up here. She was actually up there trying to stop the violence

rather than cause it as she's been portrayed. And just to hear Aaron recount what it's like to actually see your wife, your loved one, your partner in life, see her killed on television and be powerless to do anything to reach her or to be there. I mean, it is heart-rending. And one of the things we wanted to do with the movie is really humanize Ashley Babbitt and just let people know what she was really like rather than the way the media has lied about her.

And Chris, what are some of the things that you would like our listeners to know about Ashley Babbitt that they might not hear elsewhere. Ashley Babbitt wasn't only a 14-year military veteran. She was a law enforcement specialist. She had served her country in some very difficult situations in Iraq. She had been previously injured, seriously. She knew what was going on that day.

She was there not only as she went there as someone to support her president. She was very excited about the day you'll see in the film. She was streaming her thoughts as she was walking towards the capital. But in that moment, the footage that we have of her that we've since found, you can see she's acting as a law enforcement professional telling these young cops that I'm sure had much less experience than she did. She's like, you need backup in here. You need people. There's a force of people coming. You need to get help now. There's a guy named Zachary Allum. If you see the footage in the movie, this is the guy that's trying to break the window. He's leading the violence against the Capitol. And he's taking, he's He's got a military helmet and he's trying to crack the glass with the military helmet. He's hitting it with everything he can.

In this other angle that we have, you see Ashley Babbitt grab him. He jerks away from him. She grabs him again and she throws a left hook into his face and actually knocks his glasses off. This is mere seconds before she gets shot. It's a law enforcement professional. I mean, Aaron thinks, and I agree with him, that due to her claustrophobia, and due to the situation getting more and more out of hand, he thinks she actually might have gone through that window

trying to escape or get to a better vantage point to try to stop the violence. In any case, as a law enforcement professional, she knows the procedure for the EU follow before use of deadly force, the use of deadly force continuum. She knew as a military law enforcement personnel what the Capitol Police training was, and they did not do their job.

There was no vocal warning. There was no visible presence. There was no use of non-lethal force. So the last thing that woman thought as she was going through that window was, I'm going to get shot for doing this. You look at the footage of Byrd and how he handled his weapon.

That was not a professional. I want to ask you both about a couple of the families who were featured in the film. Let's start with Tony Martinez. You've been able to pull some of the actual footage of the FBI. raiding Tony's home. You spoke to Tony and his daughter, his teenage daughter. Nick, what was that like? Hearing from this 13-year-old girl about the experience of having her home rated.

It's heartbreaking. I mean, they basically terrorized and traumatized as family, and by treating them, like I said, like they were hardened criminals. These are decent, hardworking Americans, church-going people, never been arrested for anything before. a man and his wife and three children. And they threatened to break down his door and then literally break the sliding glass door in the back. And Tony and his daughter, Isabel, were frantically trying to get them to pause long enough

for them to control the family dog because the dog was traumatized, of course. And, you know, they couldn't control the dog. The dog ran away, was gone for a week. And they pulled these, They pulled this 13-year-old girl out of the house and handcuffed her on the sidewalk. It's nonsensical. You know, you can't explain why they would do this in any other way than they are intentionally

trying to traumatize people. And it's heartbreaking to hear them tell the story. And let's listen to a clip of that right now. My wife said she heard them before, before I heard them. I'm a very heavy sleeper. But what woke me up was a concussion grenade. Those things are really loud. Once I get into the area where the living room and the kitchen opens up,

another flash thing went off on the side of my house, and I could see the silhouettes about 10, at least 10 on the side of my house. You can just see all the tactical gear and everything. When I got to the door, they called me by my, by Tony. Tony, it's the FBI. Open up the door. And I opened up the blinds and I was like, ugh. My dog was right next to me and he was going crazy. And I said, let me secure my dog. Hold on.

If you don't open the door, we're going to break in the front door. And I'm thinking, okay, if they take me away, I don't want to leave this big hole in front of my house for my family. Right. At that point, the back sliding glass door breaks. They come in through that. And so I'm like, okay, they mean business. And I wasn't able to grab my dog.

And I opened up the front door. And he went running out. And I said, don't shoot my dog. Don't shoot my dog. He's a good dog. How long did it take your dog to come back? A week. So you got woken up in the midst of all this too?

I was confused and my hearing was starting to come back and it started like war. Yeah. Like it was crazy. There was flashes and just the loudest bangs on the door, it was like almost shaking the house. My dad was at the door and he was about to open it and I went to grab my dog before I can grab my dog. can grab my dog. They handcuffed me. They handcuffed you.

Yes. Okay, Nick, the other family that you interviewed was Derek Kinnison and his daughter, and you have footage from the ring doorbell camera, essentially, that you include in the film. And what's Derek's story? Well, Derek and Tony were friends, and they went there together. They felt called to go, and they were there with first aid. gear. Basically, they had received some reports on the internet that there might be some Antifa presence there, and they wanted to be there to be present to help people. There are no

weapons. They weren't carrying anything except First Aid Gear, and Derek's fan, Derek was treated much the same way as Tony. And when you see the footage of the armored vehicles, it's surreal. It looks like something in a crazy futuristic movie or something that you might see in the streets of Afghanistan. It looks like a raid on a terrorist is what it looks like. They've got armored vehicles, battering rams, 20 SWAT team members. Derek said when he stepped out of his house, there were red dots all over his chest.

You know, he's got his hands up. It's surreal. It looks like a raid on a terrorist. It was February 19th, 6.02 in the morning. I was asleep. I heard something. I woke up a little disoriented. So I started hearing this voice.

The FBI, you have a federal search warrant for the property, come out with your hands. And they list my address. And they said, this is the FBI. We have a federal search warrant for your property. Come out with your hands up and nothing in your hands. And immediately, a minute, Immediately I was just in disbelief, I thought,

I was like, which one of my buddies is pulling this prank on me? But then I kind of see some lights flashing, reflections. So I'm like, okay, so I ran to the front of my house into a spare bedroom. I got shutters. I opened the shutters, and I just saw one of those huge like bear cat tactical vehicles that had the battering ram. you know, mounted to the front and it was pointed right at that window that I cracked,

you know, cracked the shutters. And I shut them as fast as I could. And I'm like, okay, this is not a joke. I ran into the next room where my daughter was sleeping. Fortunately, my wife is at work, but unfortunately my daughter was sleeping. She was there and I just ran in and all I can muster to say was, you know, sweetheart, you got to wake up. Daddy has to go outside right now. Chris, let me ask you this question because we are just about to embark on the January 6th committee set up by Nancy Pelosi, stacked with Democrats and a couple of Republicans who, you know, are Republican in name only. And they are presenting a narrative that is quite different from what we've just heard you and Nick talk about. As Americans see coverage of these hearings, what are some of the things you want them to remember and think about in the context of the film that you've made?

I would like them to know that everything the J6 Committee is pushing is a lie. Everything that they're telling you is a lie. If the J6 community was in congressional committee was interested in the truth, they would have subpoenaed somebody like Millie Weaver, who is an investigative journalist, who has a track record of infiltrating groups and providing information. to the Capitol Police and the Secret Service and the FBI that has been used in actionable law enforcement actions to protect senators like Lindsey Graham and other VIP personnel. Before this film, she had infiltrated a call that had not only far-left groups planning an event just like this that was carried out, but on that call were actually members of our own government. Now, that footage is in the movie. Why don't they subpoena her and bring her in so that she can show them.

the evidence that she brought up that was never used. Why don't they subpoena the four and, you know, Isabel, the 13-year-old girl that was dragged out of her bed and handcuffed? How about her four and seven-year-old brothers and sisters that are still completely suffering from PTSD from being woken up with flashbangs and having their door smashed in? These are what I'd like America to see is the whole story, the real story. They're not getting that. They're getting a false narrative. Basically, you're seeing one of the biggest siops this country's ever gone through. And the congressional committee in tandem with the fake news media is working hand and foot to bring this fiction and push it into the minds of the American people.

I'd like to see the truth. Will there be a point when Americans say, enough is enough, we've watched capital punishment, we've read other sources, we've read Julie Kelly's book, we're not standing for this anymore. When will that moment come? I think that moment has to come when somebody on the Republican Party stands up for these victims. So far we haven't had anybody, very few people, maybe Marjorie Taylor Green, Louis Gomer, Matt Gett's, maybe a few others, have really tried to call attention to the fact that these people are not only being held in jail, in D.C. jails for misdemeanor charges for month after month after month with their trials continually push forward, but also that the people who have been awaiting trial now for over.

18 months, or almost 18 months, they keep having their, you know, adjudications, continued and everything, because the government wants to bleed them out. The government is trying to bleed these people of their resources and make them so desperate that they just accept a plea deal just to get it over with. And it is so criminal, so wrong, what is happening to these people. we need someone, even if it's President Trump himself, we need someone to stand up for these prisoners and these people that are being tortured. And until that happens, until the January 6th committee is given all this legitimacy, treated, taken seriously, the January 6th committee is a clown show. It is a joke. It is there simply to draw this out so that they can try to use it for the narrative

on the next election to say, we've got to stop these evil white supremacists, these domestic terrorists, blah, blah, blah. There's no truth in it whatsoever. And until our side stands up and forcefully calls it out, I don't see it ending anytime soon. And if it actually does impact the election and it works for them, they're never going to let it go. Let me ask you this as we start to wrap up here. Chris, I'll begin with you. this was obviously a massive undertaking on your part in Nick and so many of the other people who were involved in making capital punishment. What was it that motivated you to devote the time to doing this? My kids love for this country. Nick and I could not stand to sit and see this day in history stolen. Somebody had to tell the truth and that's what we did. And this is now the most censored movie in America.

There's a reason why the Silicon Valley algorithms and the mainstream media have done everything they can to cover this film up because this film completely destroys the false January 6th narrative. It completely destroys the agenda of the J6 Commission. The Democrats are going to double down on J6. People, and it's been working for them. I mean, people on our side are so afraid to be branded as violent insurrectionists, they won't look at the truth. This movie completely destroys their agenda.

And the Democrats are going to double down on this all the way through the 2020 elections. And with what I've seen, them abused the law to average citizens, I wouldn't be surprised if they try to charge Trump with something else. So that instead of running for a fair election in 2024, he's fighting off some sort of indictments. The abuse I've seen of our legal system in this film is incredible. My dad went to the 109th session FBI Academy. My dad was law enforcement. He must be rolling over in his grave with the abuse of power that's been going on legally here.

The truth is the only thing that will beat this. And if there's a tipping point of truth, enough people see with their own eyes what happened that day. Everything falls apart. You know, big shifts, big things happen, big doors open on very small hinges. And the hinge that makes everything fall apart is January 6th. because people can see with their own eyes. What really happened that day? They can see with their own eyes.

What our government is doing to innocent Americans and to small children, and they will stand up and they will say, this should not be happening in the United States of America. This is third world. This is what happened in the revolutions in Venezuela, in Ukraine, in Egypt. It put the Muslim Brotherhood in power. That same thing should not be happening in America, but it just did. Nick, I'll give you the last word here.

What was it about this day and you're being involved there that led you to embark on a project like this to tell the story of January 6th from this perspective? Well, to be honest, I must say at the beginning, I was reluctant because I was scared. And so many of the people that we talked to, we interview a number of people in the movie, but there's an equally equal number, if not more. that we're afraid to speak to us. Because when you see the way the government is treating these people, it makes you wonder, is it worth it? But as we kind of got going and Chris and I, okay, we're going to make this movie and we started talking to people as it went on,

it became something that I knew I had to do. We had to finish this. We had to see it through because I was appalled at my own government. And I really never wanted to think this. I never wanted to think that. this is what my government is like. But it is. And we have to expose it. We have to get the truth out there and people need to confront it. I've always said from the beginning, even if you disagree with us, would you just please watch this movie and tell me if you think this is the way Americans should be

treated? No matter what side they're on, even if they were there protesting a Republican president, Do you think this is correct? Do you think this is the way our government should operate? And a lot of the problem that we have is a lot of people on the left, they're afraid to look at it. They don't want to see the movie. They call it propaganda. They're just afraid to look at something that might disturb their worldview.

But I really believe that if more people will confront the truth of what happened about January 6th and see through the government's lies, we're all going to be better off for it. We can still save this country, but people have to confront the truth of what is actually happening right in front of their faces. And what's the best way for our listeners

to watch the film? Right now there's a number of places, but the best one right now is go to give me liberty now.org. Give meliberty now.org. And you can also find it at capital punishment the movie.com. both those places the movies available.

We will be sure to include links to those, both in the transcript of this interview and the show notes for this podcast. As somebody who's watching it myself, I'm certainly grateful that you've given us the time today to explain what motivated you to make the movie and also why you are so passionate about telling those stories of the Americans who suffered as a result. Thank you, Rob. Thanks for having us on, Rob.

I'm Zach Smith. And I'm John Carlo Canaparo. And if you want to understand what's happening at the Supreme Court, be sure to check out SCOTUS 101, a Heritage Foundation podcast. We take a look at the cases, the personalities, and the gossip at the highest court in the land. Be sure to subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you find your podcasts. It's SCOTUS 101. Thanks for sending us your letters to the editor. Each Monday, we feature our favorites on this show.

Virginia, who's up first? In response to my podcast interview with Stephen Bucci, discussing four steps every school can take to help prevent shootings. Mike Aiken writes, I truly appreciate your article in hearing Bucci's well-informed four-point plan to lessen the impact of school shootings in our country. He should be applauded for pointing out the generalized solutions offered by politicians, Biden specifically, that are designed only to bolster political agendas that won't solve the problem. The Second Amendment was designed to protect Americans from politicians who despise it and desire to eliminate it. And in response to Nicole Russell's commentary,

unfriendly skies, flight attendants fired for opposing Radical Equality Act Sue Alaska Airlines, Mike Dunn of Waller County, Texas, writes to us, there is one simple fact about gender identity that is ignored by the woke elites. Gender identity is a personal belief, not a scientific fact. We all have the right to our personal beliefs like the world is flat, but we do not have the right to impose our beliefs on others. If I believe that I am the emperor of the world and you must address me as, Your Highness, almost everyone would laugh.

It totally escapes me as to how over-schooled, undereducated elites can endorse the forcing of someone's personal opinion on others, but it only applies to endorsed or approved opinions. Since the woke religion is not driven by logic or principles, I cannot imagine having to memorize the entire set of constantly expanding woke rules. Your letter could be featured on next week's show. So send us an email at letters at daily signal.com. If you're tired of high taxes, fewer health care choices, and bigger and bigger government,

it's time to partner with the most impactful conservative organization in America. We're the Heritage Foundation, and we're committed to solving the issues America faces. Together, we'll fight back against the rising tide of homegrown socialism, and we'll fight four conservative solutions that are making families more free and more prosperous. But we can't do it without you. Please join us at heritage.org. Virginia, you have a good news story to share with us today. Over to you.

Thanks, Rob. You know, you're never too old to dream or to set a new goal. This is the motto, almost 82-year-old Tom Story has taken to heart. Tom has loved basketball since he was a boy growing up in Indiana. He played in high school and then enjoyed plenty of pickup games when he moved to Seattle after college. When Tom hit 65, the game became a little bit too hard on his body and he had to stop, but he remained active. But even though he gave up the game of basketball, he couldn't avoid that draw back to the basketball court as he told KOMO News. One day leaving my workout, I walked past the open gym door, and there's a basketball laying in there about the free throw line.

So, I'll go in and I'll shoot 100 free throws. On that first day in 2004, Tom made 82 of the 100 free throw shots he took. Not bad. So he decided to do it again the next day and the next. Soon, Tom was shooting 400 foul shots a day, and the tradition became his workout. He kept track meticulously each day of how many shots he took and how many he made. It's been 17 years since he first started throwing those shots, and still every day he enters them into a spreadsheet.

He makes an average of 95 out of every 100 shots these days. His average since he began at the age of 65 is 92.5%. That's 14% higher than the average NBA player. It was back in 2010 when Tom had the idea to challenge himself a little bit more. He had just hit 300,000 foul shots, and he decided he was going to go for $1 million. I didn't think it would be out of reason to do that because I liked it. I didn't seem to get bored. And so now it's a challenge.

Now it's a challenge to do the numbers to get to that million. Tom is very near to hitting his goal of $1 million foul shots. He'll be 82 in about three months and is aiming to make that goal on his birthday. So the next time that you need a little inspiration to keep working at a goal, think about Tom's story, who day after day is making those shots, not because he has to, but because he set a goal and he wants to see it to completion. Well, congratulations to Tom. What an accomplishment for Julia.

I know, quite fun. Well, we're going to leave it there for today. You can find the Daily Signal podcast on the Rikishay Audio Network, all of our shows. are available at daily signal.com slash podcast. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. If you like what you hear, please leave us a review and a five-star rating. It means a lot to us and it helps us spread the word to even more listeners. And be sure to follow us on Twitter at DailySignal and Facebook.com slash the DailySignor News.

Have a great week. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. The executive producers are Rob Bluey and Kay Trinko. Producers are Virginia, Allen, and Doug Blair. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. For more information, please visit DailySignal.com.