Three survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse say they were bounced from President Donald Trump’s midterm convention after revealing who they were.
The survivors released a video on Friday claiming that, along with the independent journalist Tara Palmeri and her video producer, they were escorted out of the MAGA Fyre Festival mere minutes after speaking with a Republican running for Congress in Massachusetts.
Marijke Chartouni says security at the RNC convention stripped her and two other survivors of their guest badges 35 minutes after they entered the American Airlines Center on Thursday. She said that the trio carried no signs and did nothing to suggest they were protesters.
Fellow survivor Sharlene Rochard said the group was trying to “fit in,” not make a scene to humiliate Republicans or Trump over his longtime friendship with one of history’s most notorious sex traffickers.
“We wanted to fit in. We wore our hats. We were there to support everybody because this is a nonpartisan issue,” she said. “This is an issue against child sex trafficking, and that’s it. This is not Republican or Democratic.”
She added, “This is not red or blue. What we are fighting for crosses all lines, and it’s not fair that we were asked to leave for no apparent reason.”
Rochard said the way they were treated like “criminals” despite not doing “anything wrong.”
The RNC did not respond to a request for comment about the survivors’ removal.
Palmeri shared her perspective of the incident on her Substack, The Red Letter. She said that the three Epstein survivors were in town for the Epstein Files Reading Room, which coincided with the midterm convention.
Palmeri wrote that a security guard approached her and the survivors, who were registered guests of hers, about eight minutes after interviewing the GOP candidate Robert Burke. During that interview, she revealed that she was attending the event with three Epstein survivors.
Palmeri wrote that Chartouni spotted a woman behind them making a phone call during the interview, during which Burke agreed that Congress should continue to pursue the issue of Epstein and his associates further.
Security approached the group and asked if they had signs, Palmeri wrote, to which they answered “no.” Despite protesting their removal, with Palmeri reminding the security guard that credentialed media are typically permitted to interview attendees, she wrote that they booted her and threatened a trespassing charge if she returned.
Palmeri wrote that she has asked the RNC what rule she breached but did not receive an answer.
