Thread by @AdamHerbets

BREAKING - Six plaintiffs filing suit against Operation Underground Railroad are speaking now at a press conference in Salt Lake City.

Five are revealing their names for the first time

- Celeste Borys
- Mike Borys
- Sasha Hightower
- Mary Hall
- Kira Lynch
- Bree Righter

Mike Borys says Tim Ballard and OUR twisted a noble cause to fulfill his fantasies.

"We are not pedophile enablers. We are not the deep state or the Godless left."

Mike Borys: What has been taken from us cannot be replaced. I pray that Tim and OUR are held accountable.

"You are finally being exposed for who you are. Your ruse is up."

Celeste Borys was Tim Ballard's executive assistant.

She traveled with him and was the closest person to him at OUR.

"I also served as his personal therapist at all hours of the day and night... to navigate his personal meltdowns and threats of suicide."

Celeste Borys is tearing up while talking about how she was used by Tim Ballard as part of the "Couples Ruse."

She says she was molested and sexually assaulted in 4 states.

"I wanted to fight the bad guys. Instead I became an easy target... I was left with a broken marriage."

Celeste Borys: It was all an elaborate ploy to justify Tim Ballard's wicked desires.

I know some will ask - why didn't you leave? Why didn't you speak up sooner?

I still don't know. The level of manipulation is hard to comprehend. He was protected by the Utah Attorney General.

Kira Lynch: I am truly devastated by the situation. I used to have complete faith in OUR and Tim Ballard. Now it's completely decimated.

The situations I put in by Tim - the manipulation, gas lighting, sexual assault, sexual abuse - has had a devastating impact on my life.

Kira Lynch: Tim Ballard told me he had contacts everywhere, with the Utah Attorney General, the police. He made it sound like people were listening to our conversations with all sorts of electronics.

I didn't want Tim Ballard's actions to be the downfall of the organization.

Kira Lynch: When Sound of Freedom came out, it started creating physical reactions in my body - I felt sick every time I saw an advertisement or whenever the film came up in conversations. I have severe PTSD.

Kira Lynch: I'm so proud to be here with these women, constantly reminding myself of my strength and bravery. I'm so proud I came forward. I will not allow OUR or Tim Ballard to treat anyone else the way I was treated. I will not stand by and let him hurt anyone else.

Kira Lynch: It's humiliating to share the most mortifying moments of my life publicly, but it had to be done to put a stop to Tim Ballard and OUR.

The truth is finally coming to light, and the evil - pure evil - can no longer hide.

Bree Righter: I'm a former marine and a licensed clinical social worker. I've helped victims of human trafficking for 10 years. Tim Ballard knew he could manipulate that. It was obvious I could be manipulated because how much I cared.

Bree Righter: Tim Ballard was obsessed with the couples ruse. It was the only thing he actually cared about in my interview when I joined OUR.

Her story is documented in this lawsuit, filed today

fox13now.com/news/local-new…

Bree Righter: They defrauded all of us. They defrauded multi-million dollar donors. But OUR is not rescuing children. They're using videos of us to make a morality play. The whole point of it was for Tim Ballard to extract donations from people.

Bree Righter: Our training consisted of watching Operation Toussaint and writing about how much it meant to us. This is dangerous. This is harmful. This is devastating. OUR has taken no accountability.

Sashleigha Hightower is also tearing up. She's enraged by comments made by OUR. She believes the nonprofit is vilifying the way she and her co-plaintiffs have decided to speak publicly.

Sashleigha Hightower: We are warriors. There are many unnamed men and women who have not come forward yet. We stand by them too. We are still fighting against child predators by speaking this truth. How many women have to come forward for this to be taken seriously?

Sashleigha Hightower: I want more healing, action, and coming together. Sometimes the most painful part of healing is telling the damn truth.

Mary Hall: My goal today is to enable and encourage honesty and accountability. It was never my intention for this to end up in a public setting. As time goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that this is the right option. Shining a light on it is the only option.

Mary Hall: Revealing who I am is incredibly scary. I'm extremely passionate about protecting women and children. As someone who has dealt with my own fair share of pain in life, my desire to help them is still strong. My goal from the beginning has not changed.

Mary Hall: Success on any major scale requires taking responsibility. Now is the time for OUR and Tim Ballard to take responsibility. Now it's their time to step up and do the right thing.

Celeste Borys says she believes Tim Ballard was excommunicated by the @LDSChurch after speaking with some of Ballard’s family members.

@LDSchurch Each of the plaintiffs say they’ve never seen Tim Ballard or OUR rescue a child from human trafficking.

I interviewed the six plaintiffs for approximately 1.5 hours

To summarize each of their stories in just a few tweets or a single short news segment is difficult.

We'll be running a story in ~5 min on @FOX13. I'll also be posting clips in this thread throughout the evening.

Here are some better photos of the six plaintiffs who spoke today.

Courtesy: Darcy Stapleford (FOX 13)

This story will be updated with additional info throughout the evening.

fox13now.com/news/local-new…

"We are not members of some cartel looking to undermine the cause of saving children. We are not 'pedophile enablers.' We are not the 'deep state' or the 'Godless left.' These are wives, and these are mothers, who wanted desperately to help the cause they so deeply believed in."

Mike Borys' statement directly to Tim Ballard:

"None of us will be intimidated by you anymore. You don't get to do what you've done. You don't get to do what you've done to my wife and get away with it."

Celeste Borys' prepared statement:

"I had to be available 24/7 to give assurances to Tim (Ballard) of what a great guy he is, to navigate his emotional meltdowns."

Celeste Borys says Tim Ballard ruined her marriage; she was made to believe that "everyone was always out to get us because we were exposing evil pedophiles."

"I was molested & sexually assaulted by Tim in 4 different states, 5 different countries, in the span of 10 months."

Attorney Alan Mortensen: Why isn't @SeanReyesUT protecting these women? He plans his travel all across the world when he should have been home taking care of our citizens. That's infuriating. As a member of the same profession as him, I'm embarrassed by him.