OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza premiered his “Police State” movie to rave reviews in front of a captive audience at former President Donald Trump’s Mar’a-Lago residence.
Attendees included former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Fox News host Dan Bongino who collaborated with D’Souza on the movie, Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake and other noteworthy conservatives.
The movie alleges that normal Americans have been targeted, harassed, arrested and prosecuted as part of a “police state” that goes after political opponents.
The man the movie said was most targeted, the former president, was not on hand but did post to his TruthSocial account in support of the movie.
“Dinesh is back and exposing the Witch Hunt that the Deep State has against ME!” the former president said.
“And the Police State is coming after you too. Dinesh understands this, and is blowing the whistle on all of it!” he said. “We can’t let this continue.
“I hope everyone will watch the film, POLICE STATE! Go to policestatefilm.net to watch the movie! It’s streaming now so you can watch it immediately!” he said.
At the event, D’Souza commented to the crowd about the valuation of Mar-a-Lago, something that is being contested in the New York courts.
“It’s hard to believe this place is worth only $18 million,” he quipped to the massive crowd, Newsweek reported.
“Maybe some of us should buy it; sell it for $400 million and use the profits to buy Fox News,” he said.
“While progressives typically dismiss D’Souza’s work as conspiratorial, a Rasmussen poll in September found that 72 percent of voters are worried that the U.S. is becoming a police state, which the poll described as a tyrannical government that engages in mass surveillance, censorship, ideological indoctrination, and targeting of political opponents,” Newsweek said.
“What Americans fail to agree on is from which side of the aisle the threat comes from. D’Souza’s film tries to make the case it is mainly from the left, though he does criticize a few Republicans — most notably former President George W. Bush — for their alleged contributions,” it said.
The movie currently boasts an audience score of 82 percent at Rotten Tomatoes.
“We are living in a police state. It’s pretty apparent. Look at January 6 and the two tiers of justice. Our rights are slipping away and more people are waking up to it,” Kari Lake said to Newsweek.
“The coverage is consistent with the country. A large percentage of it, through Biden, is becoming fascist,” Giuliani said to Newsweek. “The coverage is despicable, disgraceful, unpatriotic and, at times, supportive of criminal conspiracies, and I include Newsweek.”
“The suppression of free speech should concern both sides. The intimidation of everyday Americans can happen to anyone,” actor Nick Searcy, who is in the movie, said.
“Free speech has been disappearing quickly. That’s the truth, but the truth is kryptonite to Hollywood and to Washington, D.C.,” actor Kevin Sorbo, who also appears in “Police State” said.
The movie is D’Souza’s most recent work, and it highlights the terrifying premise that the “police state” has been targeting the former president and is not stopping there. The filmmaker explained why he chose the former president’s residence to host the premiere event.
“We are having it at Mar-a-Lago because Trump is the primary target of the police state, D’Souza said.
The movie, which is in theaters, he said, “opened to rave reviews,” and ‘it is streaming on multiple platforms and is also available on DVD.”
D’Souza has had a series of hit movies but he believes this one may be the most special, and most important, movie he has made.
“This is quite likely my most cinematic film and also the most frightening one, he said. “Not because I used the techniques of cinematography, but because the reality of what’s going on is frightening.”
