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Mason Wells Survived 3 Terrorist Attacks. He Credits God’s Protection.

December 22, 2017
Staff

WRITER

At just 19 years old, Mason Wells survived a terrorist attack … for the third time. Wells recently joined Glenn to talk about his incredible survivor story and his faith, as detailed in his new book, “Left Standing: The Miraculous Story of How Mason Wells’s Faith Survived the Boston, Paris, and Brussels Terror Attacks.”

A Mormon missionary, Wells was injured in the bombing at the Brussels airport in 2016, sustaining a ruptured Achilles tendon, injuries from shrapnel and second- and third-degree burns. He also survived the Boston Marathon bombing, waiting with his dad just a block away from the explosion, and was in France at the time of the Paris attacks.

“I actually thought I had died when the first bomb went off,” Wells said of the Brussels attack. “You’re standing there for a moment, and then suddenly, everything explodes.”

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: I want to introduce you to a guy named Mason Wells. Mason was an Eagle Scout and awarded a trip to Paris, France. He served as a missionary over in -- in France.

He's now in the United States Naval Academy. But I'm not talking to him about those things. That's not what got our attention. What got our attention is Mason Wells is a guy that happened to be at the Boston bombing, the Paris terrorist attack, and was significantly injured in the Brussels attack.

I don't know if of anybody else -- I mean, besides people who might have been involved, were at all three locations. And I can't imagine what it must feel like and how many times you must say, why me? There's a new book out. Authored by Mason and a good friend of the program, Billy Hallowell, called left standing. And it's about his faith and what he's gone through. Mason, welcome to the program.

MASON: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me, Glenn.

GLENN: So, you know, we were talking about this. And, you know, it's one of the reasons why we wanted to have you on the phone and not here at the studio.

(laughter)

You have really bad luck. Tell me about -- tell me about being in three terrorist attacks.

MASON: Oh, I think I actually have pretty good luck, that I'm still here.

My first experience with terrorism would be the 2013 Boston Marathon. And my mom was running the marathon. Me and my dad were there to support her. And me and my dad were actually 50 meters away when the first bomb went off at the finish line. So being young at the time, that was scary for me.

Fast forward, now I'm now serving as an ecclesiastical missionary in France. And I was actually in the city of Rouen at the time of the Charlie Hebdo shootings and then in the city of Calais at the time of the Paris attacks. And to have those things go on, in, you know, the headquarters of our mission. A place that we always were on the streets that we proselyted. It left me with a lot of questions and a lot of reflections.

And I was ten feet away when the first bomb went off in the Brussels Airport. And that -- that one there put me in the hospital for a good two months.

GLENN: Yeah, we saw you -- we saw pictures of you all wrapped up. You had third degree burns to your face.

Your leg had some contraption, you know, trying to piece it back together. You were seriously injured there.

What was going through your head?

MASON: Well, when I was first injured in Brussels, I actually thought I had died when the first bomb went off. If you can imagine standing there for a moment and suddenly everything explodes. That's what happened to me. And I didn't know what was going on.

When I opened up my eyes, a couple seconds after the blast and looked around, there was no one standing but me. Everyone else had been knocked down to the floor. My friends had been knocked out. And I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me.

So I made my way out of that airport, one step after another, on a ruptured Achilles' tendon, completely severed, with shrapnel in my legs, burns in my hands and my face. When I got out of the airport, my leg collapsed. I was kind of faced with, you know, these two roads in front of me. I could either embrace bitterness, embrace anger, embrace frustration, or make the best of what was going on and choose to have hope that I would come out of this all right, and I chose the latter. So I was faced with a very bleak future. You know, quite literally laying in a pool of my own blood on that sidewalk, but through the grace of God and through some mental decisions I made, I'm still here.

GLENN: So what was the -- what was the darkest moment here? Did you have a -- did you have a real struggle in faith, or were you -- were you prepared spiritually to meet some of these things?

MASON: Well, I think God prepares all of us for things in our life. I was blessed that day to be comforted when I was injured. But I did experience a lot of things afterwards, that led me to questions about my faith. And led me to develop a deeper faith. It prompts me to ask, you know, why do bad things happen to good people? Where is justice in all of this? What is God's plan for me? And those sorts of questions, those questions of the soul, they're things that take time.

And some of my reflections, of course, are in the book. But a lot of what I've learned about adversity and getting through trials came during my darkest moments. And there definitely were those dark moments.

GLENN: So what did you come to -- you know, what was the conclusion? You know, why is this happening? Why does God -- you know, where is God? I mean, you're serving a mission. You're blown up. And if I'm not mistaken, weren't you going home? Weren't you on your way home?

MASON: I was about four months away. So I was pretty close.

GLENN: So what was the conclusion? Why does God let this happen?

MASON: Well, you know, I've asked myself many times why God allows this to happen to me and why I'm alive when other people that were farther away from the bomb were killed. But ultimately, I've come to find out for myself that God allows adversity to happen in our lives, knowing that it will make us stronger. Knowing that we have a chance to come out on top, to allow these things to change for the better or for the worse. One thing I've learned for sure is that God is there when we're willing to -- to look for him and ask for his help. And ultimately, choosing to have hope amid the challenges in our lives, is the difference between finding peace and being bitter on what is going on. Honestly, I think just having a positive attitude. Making every single day a new day and realizing that every single chance is a chance for me to change. That mindset is what carried me through to my recovery. And I can positively say the line that divides success from failure is attitude, much more than it is outcome.

GLENN: So I just told the story yesterday about Corrie ten Boom who had a hard time forgiving and extending love to the people that, you know -- in particular, one of the guys who was a guard in the showers.

And she really, really had a hard time after the war forgiving him and loving him.

Did you -- did you have -- how do you feel about the people that, you know, have brought so much death and destruction?

MASON: You know, that's -- that's a deep question. That's a good question. Ultimately, I have forgiven people who did this to me. But it doesn't make what they did permissible. I actually prayed to God for them, that God would have mercy on them. But I know very well that God is a God of mercy and a God of justice. And I hope they can go on living in the next life, the best they can, given the guilt that they will undoubtedly bear. But, you know, that just being said, just because I forgive them, it doesn't make what they did okay. It's not permissible to do these things. It's the epitome of evil. What they did was evil. And I think that you can embrace forgiveness and also draw a hard line between good and bad.

STU: Mason, if you were to win an all expenses paid vacation, would anyone go with you?

GLENN: Besides Tom Hanks.

MASON: You know, as crazy as it sounds, I'm not scared to travel the world. I'm not scared to take public transportation.

GLENN: That wasn't the question. The question is: Is anyone else comfortable with you being around?

(laughter)

MASON: I mean, you know, if you were to give me an all expenses paid trip to Indonesia, I don't know if I would go there right now.

GLENN: All right.

MASON: You know, we can't let these things hold us back. We can't let these moments and these acts define our lives.

GLENN: Did you at any time have a moment where you're like, I'm -- I'm cursed or I'm -- there's something wrong, or what am I doing wrong? Or I'm afraid to go places? Was there any time that that started to happen to you?

MASON: Well, I have to admit, there was a time, I think it was about three days after I was injured in Brussels. But I was sitting in bed, and I just looked up and I just asked, you know, really, again? Like, I guess I didn't learn what I needed to the first time.

GLENN: Right. Okay. You're clearly telling me something. What is it?

MASON: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know -- obviously, you know, I thought about -- I choose to focus less on the path as to why these things happen, and focus more on the future. Just making every single day a great day and making every single day a day I want it to be. Because you know I'm still here, and I'm grateful to be alive.

GLENN: Mason Wells. Author of Left Standing. Thank you so much. Best of luck.

MASON: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me, Glenn.

GLENN: Alert me, if you're ever on a flight and you see me -- alert me, I need to get off.

MASON: Will do. Will do.

GLENN: Thanks a lot, Mason. Merry Christmas.

STU: The book is Left Standing. The miraculous story of how Mason Wells' faith survived the Boston, Paris, and Brussels terror attacks.

It's an amazing story.

GLENN: What? Osama bin Laden survived all of them.

STU: Well, no, he didn't. He didn't actually.

GLENN: You're right.

STU: But, yeah. That's an amazing story. The Brussels -- there's been so many of these attacks by largely Islamic extremists around the world. But the 2016 Brussels bombings, 32 killed. Over 300 injured. You'll remember the -- the security camera tape. The guys walking through the airport.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: But, I mean, there's been so many of these, particularly in Europe. And it's amazing that this --

GLENN: 10 feet away from the bomb.

STU: Yeah. And ISIS did claim responsibility for that. Afterwards, to be able to muster the strength of will to -- to forgive ISIS, while obviously acknowledging what they do is not right. It's an amazing story. It's Left Standing.

The Deep State's NEW plan to backstab Trump

Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move.

In 2016, Donald Trump shocked the world by defeating Hillary Clinton. Conservatives cheered, believing we’d taken back the reins of our country. But we missed the bigger battle. We failed to recognize the extent of the damage caused by eight years of Barack Obama and decades of progressive entrenchment. The real war isn’t won at the ballot box. It’s being waged against an insidious force embedded deep within our institutions: the administrative state, or the “deep state.”

This isn’t a new problem. America’s founders foresaw it, though they didn’t have a term for “deep state” back in the 1700s. James Madison, in Federalist 48, warned us that combining legislative, executive, and judicial powers in the same hands is “the very definition of tyranny.” Yet today, that’s exactly where we stand. Unelected bureaucrats in agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Justice hold more power than the officials we vote for. They control the levers of government with impunity, dictating policies and stifling change.

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege.

We’ve felt the consequences of this growing tyranny firsthand. During COVID-19, so-called experts ran our lives, crushing civil liberties under the guise of public safety. Our intelligence agencies and justice system turned into weapons of political warfare, targeting a sitting president and his supporters. Meanwhile, actual criminals were given a pass, turning American cities into lawless war zones.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1816 that “the functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents.” Today, we see Jefferson’s prophecy fulfilled. The deep state exercises unchecked power over our freedoms, and information itself is controlled by the fourth branch of government: the legacy media.

Even when we win elections, the deep state doesn’t concede defeat. It switches to survival mode. Trump’s first term proved this. Despite a historic mandate to dismantle the bureaucracy, the deep state fought back with everything it had: leaks, investigations, court rulings, and obstruction at every turn. And now, with the possibility of Trump returning to office, the deep state is preparing to do it again.

Progressives are laying out their attack plan — and they’re not even hiding it.

U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) recently boasted about forming a “shadow cabinet” to govern alongside the deep state, regardless of who’s in the White House. Nickel called it “democracy’s insurance policy.” Let’s be clear: This isn’t insurance. It’s sabotage.

They’ll employ a “top down, bottom up, inside out” strategy to overwhelm and collapse any effort to reform the system. From the top, federal judges and shadow officials will block Trump’s every move. Governors in blue states like California and New York are gearing up to resist federal authority. During Trump’s first term, California filed over 100 lawsuits against his administration. Expect more of the same starting January 20.

From the bottom, progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union will flood the streets with protesters, much as they did to oppose Trump’s first-term immigration reforms. They’ve refined their tactics since 2016 and are prepared to unleash a wave of civil unrest. These aren’t spontaneous movements; they’re coordinated assaults designed to destabilize the administration.

Finally, from the inside, the deep state will continue its mission of self-preservation. Agencies will drag their feet, leak sensitive information, and undermine policies from within. Their goal is to make everything a chaotic mess, so the heart of their power — the bureaucratic core — remains untouched and grows stronger.

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move. Progressives never see themselves as losing. When they’re out of power, they simply shift tactics, pumping more blood into their bureaucratic heart. We may win elections, but the war against the deep state will only intensify. As George Washington warned in his Farewell Address, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force; and force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege. The deep state has shown us its plan: to govern from the shadows, circumventing the will of the people. But now that the shadows have been exposed, we have a choice. Will we accept this silent tyranny, or will we demand accountability and reclaim our nation’s heart?

The battle is just beginning. We can’t afford to lose.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Drone mystery exposes GLARING government incompetence

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

The drone issue is getting way out of hand.

Earlier this month, Glenn first reported on the mysterious drones stalking the night sky over New Jersey, but the situation is increasingly concerning as the sightings have escalated. Not only have drones been seen across the Northeast Coast, including over New York City, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, but recently, they have been spotted over the night skies of San Diego and other parts of Southern California.

It doesn't take an expert to identify the potential dangers and risks that dozens of undetectable, unidentified six-foot or larger drones pose to national security. Yet, our government's response has been one of unimaginable incompetence, leaving us to speculate on the origin and intention of these drones and wonder in astonishment at the government's ineptitude. Here are three examples of the government's lackluster response to the mystery drones:

Iranian Mothership and Missing Nuclear Warheads

- / Stringer | Getty Images

After several weeks of hubbub, New Jersey Representative, Jeff Van Drew gave an interview on Fox News where he claimed that the drones originated from an Iranian "mothership" off the East Coast of the United States. This theory has since been disproven by satellite images, which show that all Iranian drone carriers are far from U.S. shores. Another theory suggests that drones may be equipped with sensors capable of detecting nuclear material and that they are looking for a nuclear warhead that recently went missing! With these apocalyptic theories gaining traction in the absence of any real answer from our government, one can't help but question the motive behind the silence.

Pentagon's Limp Wristed Response

Alex Wong / Staff | Getty Images

In a recent press conference, national security spokesman John Kirby responded to reporters demanding answers about the government's lack of transparency, which has caused increasing public anxiety. He insisted that the drones did not pose a threat and were not assets of a foreign power, such as from Iran or China--even though he is still uncertain about their identity and origin. He also claimed that many of the sightings were simply misidentifications of normal aircraft.

This lackluster answer has only further inflamed national anxieties and raised even more questions. If the government is unsure of the identity of the drones, how do they know if they are a threat or if they aren't foreign assets? If they aren't foreign, does that mean they are U.S. assets? If so, why not just say so?

The Pentagon has also stated that they are leaving it up to local law enforcement to spearhead the investigation after concluding that these drones pose no threat to any military installation. This has left many feeling like the federal government has turned a blind eye to a serious issue that many Americans are very concerned about.

Where's Pete Buttigieg?

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

We are in the closing weeks of the Biden administration, and with the finish line in sight, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg probably figured nothing else could go wrong on his watch—but boy was he wrong. As Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg is in charge of the FAA, the agency responsible for managing all air traffic across the nation. One would think that mysterious, 6-foot-long, seemingly intractable drones are invisible on radar and flying above major cities would pose a serious threat to the myriad of legal aircraft that traverse our skies. Yet, Buttigieg has been silent on the issue, adding another failure to his resume which includes: malfunctioning airplanes, the train derailment in Ohio, and the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse, just to name a few.

Glenn: How Alvin Bragg turned hero Daniel Penny into a villain

Michael M. Santiago / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty.

America no longer has a single, shared understanding of justice. Two Americas now exist, each applying justice differently depending on who you are and where you live. One America, ruled by common sense and individual courage, praises heroes who stand up to protect others. The other, driven by political agendas and corrupted institutions, punishes those same heroes for daring to act.

This stark division couldn’t be clearer than in the case of Daniel Penny, the Marine whose trial in New York City this week drew strong reactions from both sides across the divided line of justice.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare.

Penny was on a subway train last year when Jordan Neely — a man suffering from severe mental illness and reportedly high on drugs — began threatening passengers, saying, “I’m going to kill you all.” The fear on that subway car was palpable, but nobody moved. Nobody, that is, until Penny did what needed to be done. He took action to protect innocent lives.

In the America many of us used to believe in, Penny’s response would be heralded as heroic. His actions mirrored the courage of Todd Beamer on Flight 93, who, on September 11, 2001, rallied others with the words, “Let’s roll,” to prevent further tragedy. But in New York, courage doesn’t seem to count anymore. There, the system turns heroes into villains.

Penny subdued Neely using a chokehold, intending only to restrain him, not kill him. Tragically, Neely died. Penny, filled with remorse, told the police he never meant to hurt anyone. Yet, instead of being recognized for protecting others from a clear and present threat, Penny stood trial for criminally negligent homicide.

In Alvin Bragg’s New York, justice bends to ideology. The Manhattan district attorney has made a career of weaponizing the law, selectively prosecuting those who don’t fit his narrative. He’s the same prosecutor who twisted legal precedent to go after Donald Trump on business charges no one had ever faced before. Then, he turned his sights on Daniel Penny.

A jury may have acquitted Penny, but what happened in New York City this week isn’t justice. When the rule of law changes depending on the defendant’s identity or the prosecutor's political motives, we’re no longer living in a free country. We’re living in a state where justice is a game, and ordinary Americans are the pawns.

The system failed Jordan Neely

It’s worth asking: Where were activists like Alvin Bragg when Neely was suffering on the streets? Jordan Neely was a tragic figure — a man with a long history of mental illness and over 40 arrests, including violent assaults. The system failed him long before he stepped onto that subway train. Yet rather than confront that uncomfortable truth, Bragg’s office decided to target the man who stepped in to prevent a tragedy.

This isn’t about justice. It’s about power. It’s about advancing a narrative where race and identity matter more than truth and common sense.

It’s time to demand change

The Daniel Penny case — and others like it — is a wake-up call. We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty. Americans must demand an end to politically driven prosecutions, hold DAs like Alvin Bragg accountable, and stand up for the principle that true justice is blind, consistent, and fair.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare. It’s time to choose which America we want to live in.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

CEO Brian Thompson's killer reveals COWARDICE of the far-left death cult

Jeff Swensen / Stringer | Getty Images

Early on the chilly morning of Wednesday, December 4th, Brian Thompson, CEO of health insurance giant, UnitedHealthcare, was walking through Midtown Manhattan on his way to a company conference. Suddenly, a masked and hooded figure silently allegedly stepped onto the sidewalk behind Thompson, drew a 3-D printed, silenced pistol, and without warning fired multiple shots into Thompson's back before fleeing the scene on an electric bicycle. After a multiple-day manhunt, a 26-year-old lead suspect was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania after being recognized by an employee.

This was not "vigilante justice." This was cold-blooded murder.

As horrific as the murder of a husband and father in broad daylight in the center of New York City is, the story only gets worse. Even before the murder suspect was arrested, left-wing extremists were already taking to X to call him a "hero" and a "vigilante" who "took matters into his own hands." Even the mainstream media joined in on the glorification, as Glenn pointed out on air recently, going out of the way to show how physically attractive the murder suspect was. This wave of revolting and nihilistic fanfare came in response to the findings of online investigators who surmised the murder suspect's motives to retaliate against healthcare companies for corruption and denied coverage. The murder suspect supposedly underwent a major back surgery that left him with back pain, and some of his internet fans apparently viewed his murder of Thompson as retribution for the mistreatment that he and many other Americans have suffered from healthcare companies.

The murder suspect and his lackeys don't seem to understand that, other than depriving two children of their father right before Christmas, he accomplished nothing.

The murder suspect failed to achieve his goal because he was too cowardly to try.

If the murder suspect's goals were truly to "right the wrongs" of the U.S. healthcare system, he had every tool available to him to do so in a constructive and meaningful manner. He came from a wealthy and prominent family in the Baltimore area, became the valedictorian at a prestigious all-boys prep school, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master's in engineering. Clearly, the murder suspect was intelligent and capable, and if he had put his talent into creating solutions for the healthcare industry, who knows what he could have accomplished?

This is the kind of behavior the far-left idolizes, like communists on college campuses who wear shirts that celebrate the brutal Cuban warlord, Che Guevara. Merchandise celebrating the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect is already available, including shirts, hoodies, mugs, and even Christmas ornaments. Will they be sporting his face on their T-shirts too?

This macabre behavior does not breed creation, achievement, success, or life. It only brings death and risks more Americans falling into this dangerous paradigm. But we still have a chance to choose life. We just have to wake up and take it.