Hundreds of activists descended on late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico on Sunday, rallying outside the estate where the late financier trafficked and sexually abused girls for years as part of a global International Women’s Day mobilization organized by Women’s March.
‘No Peace Without Accountability’
The demonstration comes as federal investigations into Epstein’s network have largely stalled following his 2019 death, even after millions of court documents unsealed in recent years named dozens of alleged co-conspirators and enablers.
Activists argue the lack of federal accountability has left more than 150 identified survivors without justice — and only two people have ever faced criminal consequences.
270 Actions, One Message
Women’s March organized more than 270 actions across the United States and around the world this weekend, with the flagship mobilization taking place Sunday outside Zorro Ranch.
Speakers included family members of survivor Virginia Giuffre, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, New Mexico State Senator Linda Lopez, and indigenous and faith-based organizers. Women’s March Executive Director Rachel O’Leary Carmona read a speech authored by Epstein survivor Rachel Benavidez.
The rally centered the work of the New Mexico Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, a bipartisan, survivor-focused body documenting decades of systemic abuse against women, children, and Indigenous communities.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez reopened his office’s criminal investigation into alleged illegal activity at Zorro Ranch in February, after the DOJ’s release of previously sealed Epstein files revealed details that state investigators had not previously had access to. Torrez has said his office will issue a full public report at the conclusion of the investigation and is urging survivors to come forward directly.
‘The System Protected the Powerful’
“The years-long cover-up and protection of Epstein’s allies and co-conspirators exposed a culture of impunity that tells survivors their pain is negotiable when powerful men are involved,” O’Leary Carmona said at the rally. “There can be no peace without accountability, no democracy without justice for survivors, and no freedom while abusers and their enablers are protected.”
In an interview with Newsweek, O’Leary Carmona said New Mexico’s approach represents a turning point. “The New Mexico Truth and Reconciliation Commission represents something we haven’t seen from federal authorities — a survivor-centered process that is willing to follow the evidence wherever it leads, and investigate the institutions that allowed this abuse to happen,” she said. “For decades, Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes were enabled by institutional failures. The system protected the powerful people around him while survivors were ignored or dismissed.”
A National Model — and a Congressional Demand
The Women’s March is calling on New York, Florida, and the U.S. Virgin Islands — all jurisdictions tied to Epstein’s network — to adopt New Mexico’s accountability model. On the federal level, O’Leary Carmona told Newsweek the organization is demanding the full, unredacted release of the Epstein files, stronger survivor protections, and congressional investigations that are not “delayed, redacted, or stopped because powerful people may be implicated.”
“More than 150 survivors have been identified and only two people have faced criminal consequences,” she said. “That is an institutional failure on the part of the U.S. government.”
Survivors Won’t Stay Quiet — and Voters Are Watching
O’Leary Carmona told Newsweek the weekend’s turnout reflects a broader shift in public consciousness around gender-based violence. “People are not willing to accept impunity for powerful abusers anymore,” she said. “What we’re seeing now is a broad public recognition that gender-based violence is a power and control issue. When systems protect abusers because they are wealthy or politically connected, that undermines democracy itself.”
She added that the pressure won’t ease heading into the midterms. Women make up more than 80 million voters in the American electorate, she noted, and “this failure of our country’s leaders will absolutely be on their minds when they head to the ballot box in November.”
