Protestors assembled signs reading “Turn Files Into Trials” over the Highway 87 pedestrian bridge on South Bryant Boulevard Wednesday evening, right as rush hour traffic hit San Angelo city limits, referencing the now infamous Epstein Files.
Since being partially disclosed earlier this year, the documents revealed numerous connections between elite society and the deceased sex offender and New York “financier.”
If honking is any indication of public opinion, hundreds of people heading back into San Angelo around rush hour expressed their support of the protest.
A few protestors said they felt particularly let down by their elected representatives in both houses of Congress, and letters demanding action from legislators were circulating among protestors.
Other protesters criticized the rollout of the files, noting that numerous explicit images of underage girls made it into the files unreacted, while at the same time the names of the Epstein associates who perpetrated the crimes remained hidden from public view.
In the United Kingdom, connections between Epstein and prince Andrew Windsor, former Duke of York, led to his dismissal from any royal duties, and criminal charges earlier this year.
Along with Peter Mandelson, the U.K’s Ambassador to the U.S., who was forced out of office and similarly charged shortly after. Citing these actions overseas, San Angelo’s protestors said they’d like to see the same charges brought against officials in the United States.
Reports Say Epstein’s Associations Were Widespread
The Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) forced disclosure of material relating to the Federal Investigation into Epstein — only one representative voted against the measure, Republican Clay Higgins of Louisiana.
The EFTA confirmed what may investigators and reporters had been alleging for more than a decade: Epstein had deep associations with some of the most influential politicians and businesspeople around the world, and many of the files consisted of emails between Epstein and his associates, including sometimes graphic and occasionally cryptic communications.
Jeffrey Epstein lived and worked in New York and Palm Beach, Florida, up until his arrest and unexpected death in 2019, which was officially ruled a suicide.
According to reports, Epstein stayed out of the limelight except for a few notable profiles throughout the 1990s and early 2000s which described him as a “financial bounty hunter.”
According to biographers, despite never receiving a college degree, he started his career as a math instructor at an all-girls school in New York City, notably hired by Donald Barr, father of eventual Attorney General William Barr.
After being dismissed for poor performance, Epstein worked at investment firm Bear Stearns for several years.
He was convicted in 2008 in Florida for “procuring a child for prostitution” and was sentenced to house arrest with extended work leave throughout the day.
He was again arrested in 2019 and charged with sex trafficking, where he would have been tried by the Southern District of New York on federal charges, but died later that year at the age of 66.
Though the allegations had been circling for years, his arrest and death in 2019 brought much to light, including close associations with notable figures in philanthropy and academia today, like former President Bill Clinton and Microsoft founder and former CEO Bill Gates.
Along with the evidence were thousands of emails showing Epstein and President Donald Trump had lines of communication and contact for years before an apparent falling out in the late 2000s.
Interest in the Epstein case renewed in 2017 following President Trump’s nomination of former U.S. Attorney from Florida Alexander Acosta for Labor Secretary.
Reporting from the Washington Post by Marc Fisher revealed Acosta’s involvement in Epstein’s 2008 conviction and the so-called “sweetheart plea deal” which resulted in a recommendation of 18 months house arrest, which Epstein eventually served 13 months of, and was allowed out of the house for up to 12 hours a day for work.
Julie K. Brown’s Reports from the Miami Herald.
“Labor Nominee Acosta Cut Deal With Billionary Guilty In Sex Abuse Case” by Marc Fisher, 2017.
Reporting by Julie K. Brown in the Miami Herald, as well as reports from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the BBC were sourced to factcheck this article.
