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‘It was a tragic mistake’: Mother of jailed Marine makes emotional plea for her son’s safe return

May 16, 2014
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The Glenn Beck Program

On March 31, Mexican federal officers arrested Marine Corps Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi at a border crossing for weapons possession. He faces a sentence of six to 21 years in a Mexican prison for carrying his registered AR-15 rifle, .45-caliber pistol, and 12-gauge pump shotgun in his car across the border.

A 25-year-old decorated veteran and Florida native, Tahmorressi was in San Diego for a 10-day trip to undergo treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder when he took the wrong turn at the San Ysidro checkpoint. Tahmorressi had all his possessions in his vehicle because he was in the process of moving to San Diego for treatment. He declared his weapons, but Mexican federal agents confiscated them at the border as they took him into custody.

On Friday morning, TheBlaze received and released the last ditch 911 call placed by Tahmooressi just minutes before he was arrested. The fear in Tahmooressi’s voice is obvious as he tells the 911 operator, “The problem is I crossed the border by accident and I have three guns in my truck and they’re trying to take my guns from me.” The 911 operator replies, “There’s nothing I can help you with sir. I do apologize.”

On radio this morning, Tahmooressi’s mother Jill joined Glenn to discuss the status and condition of her son. Tahmooressi was originally held in Tijuana’s La Mesa Penitentiary, where he was placed in general population and his life was threatened. He was then moved to solitary confinement and shackled to a bed for nearly 30 days before being moved to a maximum-security prison about 40 miles outside of Tijuana last week. As Jill emotionally explained, her son made “a tragic mistake,” and she just hopes action will be taken to bring him home safely.

“Glenn, it was a tragic mistake,” Jill said. “I've been praying for you to follow Andrew's fight for freedom. Thank you for reaching out to me.”

“I'm sorry it's taken a while for me to get on board,” Glenn responded. “But I have been following it on TheBlaze, and I know that we have covered it on many of our shows. I've been now on it myself to cover it today because I want to find out what we can do.”

Jill said she is relieved the audio from the 911 call was released today because it renew the conversation surrounding her son’s release. She once again explained that he son had no intention of crossing the Mexican border. She received a phone call from her son around 2:30am EST on March 31, in which he frantically explained the situation he found himself in.

“New [audio] just surfaced – by the grace of God – of his 911 call. He called me, but I didn't know that he had first called 911. So the instinct was, ‘I'm in trouble. Let me call 911.’ So that just came out last night. And it did exonerate him,” Jill said. “It validates what I have been saying for seven weeks now – that my son didn't mean to be in Mexico. It was an accident. I'm just so prayerful that there will be due process and the truth will come out and they'll release him.”

During his time in prison, Andrew has been able to somewhat keep in contact with his mother. In a phone call from Tijuana’s La Mesa Penitentiary, Andrew explained the threat he was under and begged his mother not to travel to Mexico out of fear for her life. Despite the fact that she dealt with her son’s deployment for two years, Jill admitted she has never been so afraid for her son’s safety.

“Two years of combat duty in Afghanistan, and I have never been so afraid in my life and just on my knees praying to my Lord to protect him,” Jill said. “He only wants to get back to America to get well, to get in recovery for his PTSD, and to be a law-abiding citizen in America like he always has been.”

Jill said that she has received support from several congressmen including Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson and Representatove Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Her biggest help, however, has come from Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), whose district covers the border where Sgt. Tahmooressi crossed.

“Representative Hunter has been so much of an advocate of trying to help through diplomatic and political avenues to just help Mexico understand that it's a grievous mistake,” Jill said. “Every day we pray. Every day and we ask for protection over Andrew and the guards as well that are guarding Andrew. But yes, God is merciful.”

Glenn vowed that TheBlaze will continue to do everything it can to raise the awareness that will hopefully facilitate Andew’s safe return.

We'll do our best, and TheBlaze will stay on it,” Glenn said. “I grew up near the Canadian border and I'm sure it's different, but probably not so much. I mean back in the day there are parts where you live up on the Canadian border and literally you turn down one side of the street, you go one direction, and you're in Canada. You go the other direction and you stay in America. And if you don't know where you're going, it's very easy for this to happen… We will pray for the best. Jill, thank you very much. God bless.”

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

Harvey Meston / Staff | Getty Images

The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

MATTHIEU RONDEL/AFP via Getty Images | Getty Images

Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins TPUSA tour to honor Charlie Kirk

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

If they thought the murder of Charlie Kirk would scare us into silence, they were wrong!

If anything, Turning Point will hit the road louder than ever. On Monday, September 22, less than two weeks after the assassination, Charlie's friends united under the Turning Point USA banner to carry his torch and honor his legacy by doing what he did best: bringing honest and truthful debate to Universities across the nation.

Naturally, Glenn has rallied to the cause and has accepted an invitation to join the TPUSA tour at the University of North Dakota on October 9th.

Want to join Glenn at the University of North Dakota to honor Charlie Kirk and keep his mission alive? Click HERE to sign up or find more information.

Glenn's daughter honors Charlie Kirk with emotional tribute song

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK / Contributor | Getty Images

On September 17th, Glenn commemorated his late friend Charlie Kirk by hosting The Charlie Kirk Show Podcast, where he celebrated and remembered the life of a remarkable young man.

During the broadcast, Glenn shared an emotional new song performed by his daughter, Cheyenne, who was standing only feet away from Charlie when he was assassinated. The song, titled "We Are One," has been dedicated to Charlie Kirk as a tribute and was written and co-performed by David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond, founding member of The Osmonds.

Glenn first asked David Osmond to write "We Are One" in 2018, as he predicted that dark days were on the horizon, but he never imagined that it would be sung by his daughter in honor of Charlie Kirk. The Lord works in mysterious ways; could there have been a more fitting song to honor such a brave man?

"We Are One" is available for download or listening on Spotify HERE