I set fire to my school when I was thirteen years old.
They sent me to an institution. I was there for about a month. A man in that facility did something to me that I have never spoken about publicly until today. I was a child. He was not.
I carried that for thirty-one years. Through a marriage. Through five kids. Through driving a garbage truck at 5 AM and writing between stops in parking lots with the engine running. Through 1,800 posts and 26,000 subscribers, and a ministry I built with my bare hands.
Thirty-one years of silence.
I'm breaking it now.
Not because I want your sympathy. Not because I want to "process" or "heal" or whatever word the therapists use. I'm breaking it because I watched a 22-year-old kid on the Shawn Ryan Show this week describe being groomed on Roblox at twelve years old, by a developer that Roblox put in their own commercials, and I sat in my chair, and I could not move.
Not because of what happened to him.
Because I looked at a picture of my own children on the wall across the room.
And I thought about every screen in my house. Every app I never opened. Every conversation I never asked about. Every night, my kids were in their rooms on devices I paid for, connected to platforms I never checked, talking to people I never met.
And I realized something that made me sick.
I've been so busy carrying my own silence that I almost missed what was happening right in front of me.
Let me tell you what's happening.
Right now — tonight — there are grown men on Roblox, Discord, VR Chat, and a dozen other platforms your children use every single day. They have playbooks. Not metaphorical playbooks. Literal, documented grooming strategies. They build trust with your kid over weeks. They gift virtual currency. They isolate. They normalize. And then they destroy.
The kid on the Shawn Ryan Show tried to kill himself at fifteen. His mother reported it to Roblox. The company did nothing. The predator — a man named Kevin Nolan, featured in Roblox's own TV commercials on Cartoon Network — is still free. Still online.
Seven hundred thousand people watched that interview in two days.
Twenty million reports of child exploitation hit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline last year. Twenty million. Reports of online enticement surged 192% in a single year. And those are just the cases someone actually reported.
Your child's bedroom is not safe. Not because you failed as a parent. Because the battlefield moved into your house through a screen, and nobody told you.
I know what it feels like when a man reaches for a child in a room no one is watching. I know what it does to a boy. I know what it costs him for the next three decades. I know the silence. I know the shame. I know the way your body flinches at things you can't explain, and your wife asks what's wrong, and you say "nothing" because you don't have the words.
I have the words now.
And I'm using them.
I'm not starting a movement. I'm not launching a nonprofit. I'm not pivoting my platform. I'm doing what a father does. A father protects his own. And he warns other fathers.
So here's your warning.
Check your kids' phones tonight. Not tomorrow. Tonight. Open Roblox. Open Discord. Look at the friend lists. Read the messages. Ask your child who they're talking to. And when they say "just my friends" — verify it. Because the man who hurt me was supposed to be helping me. And the man who groomed that kid on Roblox was supposed to be making games for children.
The people who destroy children don't look like monsters. They look like helpers. They look like developers. They look like youth pastors, coaches, and family friends. And they are counting on you being too busy, too trusting, or too distracted to notice.
Don't be.
Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. — Nehemiah 4:14
That was written for men standing on a wall with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other. Building something and defending it at the same time.
That's us.
I wrote the full story on Substack today. Everything I've never said. What happened to me. What I found. What I'm going to do about it. And what I need from you.
If you're a father, read it. If you're a mother, read it. If you have a child with a screen in their hand, read it.
And if you know someone who needs to see this — share it. Not for me. For the kid in the room, no one is watching.
I'm done being silent.
We're not hiding anymore.
You're a 19 year old kid.
You are critically wounded and dying in the jungle somewhere in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam .
Its November 14, 1965 . LZ (landing zone) X-ray.
Your unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense from 100 yards away, that your CO (commanding officer) has ordered the MedEvac helicopters to stop coming in.
You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know you're not getting out.
Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again.
As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then - over the machine gun noise - you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter.
You look up to see a Huey coming in. But.. It doesn't seem real because no MedEvac markings are on it.
Captain Ed Freeman is coming in for you. He's not MedEvac so it's not his job, but he heard the radio call and decided he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway.
Even after the MedEvacs were ordered not to come. He's coming anyway. And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 3 of you at a time on board.
Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses and safety. And, he kept coming back!! 13 more times!!
Until all the wounded were out. No one knew until the mission was over that the Captain had been hit 4 times in the legs and left arm.
He took 29 of you and your buddies out that day. Some would not have made it without the Captain and his Huey.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Captain Ed Freeman, United States Army, died at the age of 81, in Boise, Idaho.
God bless our vets!
United States Navy Lieutenant John Leon Abrams was killed in action on July 13, 1968 in Ba Xugen Province, South Vietnam. John was a 28 year old helicopter pilot from Menomonie, Wisconsin. HA(L)-3, TF 116, USNAVFORV. Remember John today. He is an American Hero.🇺🇸
NEW: Per senior CBP source, there were 1,504 Iranian nationals caught crossing the border illegally during the Biden administration from FY’21 through FY’24, 729 (48%) of whom were released into the U.S.
Year by year breakdown of Iranian nationals caught by Border Patrol at southern border:
FY’21 - 48
FY’22 - 197
FY’23 - 462
FY’24 - 797
Year by year breakdown of Iranians released into the U.S. by Border Patrol
FY’21 - 12
FY’22 - 40
FY’23 - 229
FY’24 - 448
Additional color:
It’s unclear how many of these Iranians were on the terror watchlist, as the Biden administration repeatedly denied my FOIA requests and appeals for the data, citing the “privacy concerns” of the people on the list and “minimal public interest” in disclosing the data.
There were over 2 million known/recorded gotaways at the border during the Biden administration. Because they were never caught, no way of knowing where they’re from.
All Iranians are “special interest aliens” due to national security concerns, and they are supposed to receive enhanced vetting by DHS.
Almost half of the Iranians encountered by the Biden Border Patrol were released into the U.S.
🚨#BREAKING: Struggling farmers in Western North Carolina received an unexpected gift this week...
Trucks from hundreds of miles away surprised local farms with MILLIONS of pounds of nutrient-rich topsoil for farmers who lost everything in Hurricane Helene.
THIS IS AMERICA!!!
U.S. Army Private First Class Donnie Lee Bryant Ward was killed in action on February 13, 1967 in Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam. Donnie was 20 years old & from Pollocksville, North Carolina. A Company, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. Remember Donnie today. American Hero.🇺🇸
United States Marine Corps Private First Class John Lewis Stow was killed in action on February 13, 1968 in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam. John was 18 years old and from Ashville, New York. Service Company, 7th Engineer Battalion. Remember John today. He is an American Hero🇺🇸
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Casimir Sylwa Sylwanowicz was killed in action on February 12, 1967 in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Casimir was 19 years old and from Flint, Michigan. B Company, 3rd Anti-Tank Battalion. Remember Casimir today. He is an American Hero.🇺🇸
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Robert Anthony “Skip” Bye was killed in action on February 3, 1969 in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam. Robert was 20 years old and from Casselberry, Florida. D Company, 1st Bn, 5th Marines. Remember Robert today. He is an American Hero.🇺🇸
U.S. Army Specialist 4 James Byrd Brandon passed away on February 3, 1968 from wounds sustained in a helicopter crash in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. James was 18 years old and from Chicago, Illinois. A Co, 2nd Bn, 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. American Hero.🇺🇸
United States Army Specialist Four Don Ray Gilbert was killed in action on February 3, 1968 in Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam. Don was 20 years old and from Forth Worth, Texas. E Troop, 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Remember Don today. He is an American Hero.🇺🇸
U.S. Army First Lieutenant Donald Bruce Small was killed in action on February 2, 1968 in Long An Province, South Vietnam. Donald was 23 years old and from Mount Vernon, New York. A Company, 3rd Bn, 39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. Remember Donald today. Leader. Hero.🇺🇸🎖️
United States Air Force Captain Craig Slade Blackner was killed in action on February 2, 1966 in Long An Province, South Vietnam. Craig was a 27 year old pilot from Lyman, Wyoming. 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron. Remember Craig today. He was a warrior and an American Hero.🇺🇸
U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Donald Alan Kirkham selflessly sacrificed his life saving his Marines on February 1, 1968 in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. For his extraordinary heroism and bravery that day, Donald was awarded the Silver Star. “Doc” was 22 years old.🇺🇸
United States Marine Corps Corporal Larry Leonard Maxam selflessly sacrificed his life in the service of our country on February 2, 1968 in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. For his extraordinary heroism & bravery that day, Larry was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was 20. Hero🇺🇸
U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Robert Charles Keri was killed in action on February 1, 1967 in Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam. Robert was 18 years old and from Somerset, New Jersey. M Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines. Remember Robert today. He is an American Hero.🇺🇸
United States Army Captain Carl Lynn West was killed in action on February 2, 1968 in Phong Dinh Province, South Vietnam. Carl was 29 years old and from Nashville, Tennessee. 235th Aviation Company, 307th Aviation Battalion. Remember Carl today. He is an American Hero.🇺🇸🎖
United States Army Specialist Four Gilbert Ray Lish was killed in action on February 1, 1968 in Vinh Long Province, South Vietnam. Gilbert was 20 years old and from Boise, Idaho. D Company, 69th Engineer Battalion. Silver Star. Remember Gilbert today. He is an American Hero.🇺🇸