“There Were Victims”: Inside the Demonstration at Epstein’s New Mexico Ranch (3/2/26)

0:00Forget everything you had planned for this weekend because you are sitting on your couch and winning from the comfort of your own home. I'm here with SpinQuest where you can play hundreds of slot games, all of the table games you love, and you could even win real cash prizes. New users, $30 coin packs are on sale for 10 at SpinQuest.com. SpinQuest is a free to play social casino. Boydweuer prohibited. Visit SpinQuest.com for more details. Hi, this is Alex Cantrowitz. I'm the host of Big Technology Podcast, a longtime reporter and an on-air contributor to CNBC. And if you're like me, you're trying to figure out how artificial intelligence is changing the business world and our lives. So each week on Big Technology, I bring on key actors from companies building AI tech and outsiders trying to influence it, asking where this is all going to come from places like Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and plenty more. So if you want to be smart with your wallet, your career choices, and meetings with your colleagues and at dinner parties, listen to Big Technology Podcast wherever you get your

1:04podcasts. Every day the world gets a little weirder, and a lot more awesome. Cool stuff daily takes a look at everything from mining in space to the latest in the fight against cancer to how AI is basically changing everything. It's all the cool stuff you didn't know you needed to know. Join us for cool stuff daily as we take a quick look at science, tech, and the, wait, stories that make you sound way smarter at dinner subscribe to cool stuff daily now because the future is happening fast and it's way too fun to miss. What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. One of the biggest mysteries if you will when it comes to Epstein is what occurred at Zorro Ranch and unfortunately the authorities had a chance to really blow the doors off of that investigation back in 2019, 2020, and they refused to do so.

2:04So I went down to Santa Fe and Zorro Ranch to do some investigating of my own. And when I got there and I started talking to people, I was blown away by how many people knew something was up at Zorro Ranch. And according to the sources I spoke with, including ex law enforcement. It was ignored because of Jeffrey Epstein's contacts and his political connections inside New Mexico and out, obviously, but he had a lot of powerful friends in New Mexico. The King family Bill Richardson and others. So he was given that secrecy in New Mexico and when the investigation into Epstein kicked off an earnest, the state of New Mexico kicked the investigation up to the federal government. And of course, the federal government never even bothered to raid Zorro Ranch or do any real investigation in New Mexico.

3:05So now people, obviously, they're pissed off. And now that people are finding out about this, they want answers and people down in New Mexico have taken the step to even go up to the ranch and protest. So today, we're going to talk about that protest at Zorro Ranch. And to do that, we have an article from the Santa Fe, New Mexican. The author of this article is Andre Salkin, a handful of armed private securities to guard at the former Jeffrey Epstein estate, warning those gathered for a roadside vigil not to step onto the property. Oh, isn't that nice? The new owner, the Huffine family, armed guards, really? Oh, don't step onto the property. Bunch of fucking clowns, cowards, rather protect Jeffrey Epstein, huh? They're protecting their filth, said Pauline Sims, a retired Albuquerque teacher as she recorded the guards from the other side of the gate. They know what happened there.

4:06There is nothing hidden in the world she added. Never. Eventually, it'll all be out. And you know what? I hope so. I really hope so. And up until recently, I had zero faith that we'd ever find out what really happened in New Mexico. Nobody cared. Literally nobody gave a shit. Now, of course, there are a few people, obviously, that, you know, know the score and wanted to know what was going on there. But I'm talking about in the overall conversation, New Mexico was never even really brought up. The island, this, the island, that, and I told you all back then that they're with something real bad going on at this ranch. Now I'm not going to say, you know, there was a bunch of murders or anything like that because I don't know. But do I think it's possible? I certainly do. And I also think that there were some weird ass experiments going on there as well. What those experiments were again. I wish I could tell you around 60 people came to the former Zorro Ranch, now known as

5:08Rancho San Rafael, Saturday morning, for a part memorial, part protest, to pay tribute to Epstein's survivors. While some praised the state's efforts now to investigate what happened, many lambasted the state and federal officials for acting too late or failing altogether to bring justice to the high profile participants of his alleged year's long operation to sex traffic minors to powerful clients. That was just part of it. Our Epstein was doing a lot more than just trafficking minors. And even if they can come up with an excuse for why they missed that, how did they miss all the financial crimes, how they miss all the other stuff that was going on, how they missed the immigration scam that was being run? Well the answer is, they didn't miss it, they ignored it. Eddie Aragon, a radio host in something of a central figure in New Mexico's part of the Epstein saga, was among the roadside crowd. In 2019, Aragon received an email from an anonymous sender claiming to be a former Zoro

6:10Ranch employee. Did you know that somewhere in the hills outside of Zoro, two foreign girls were buried on the orders of Jeffrey and Madame G, the person wrote, with Madame G likely referring to Glenn Maxwell, both died by strangulation, during rough fetish sex. Now that certainly fits. I can't tell you one way or the other, with certainty that there's people buried on this property, but girls dying during rough sex is not on herd of, especially when we're talking about these rich degenerates who have no regard for anybody, never mind some girl that they're abusing. So did somebody go too far one day? Very possible. And you see this is the big problem, right? This is why an investigation should have kicked off years ago. But because you didn't do that, here we are now. And now there's a lot more people interested in what's going on. And I think that the more people that are demanding answers, the closer we're going to get,

7:13does that mean we're going to get over the goal line and have all the answers we want? Doubtful. But if New Mexico here does something a little different and opens a real state investigation and holds people accountable, that could set a template moving forward. You mean to tell me nobody committed any crimes in New York? I got bad news for you, they most certainly did. The message also included seven video descriptions offering to send Eragon the videos if he sent one Bitcoin, he didn't pay, but thinking the claims might be legitimate forwarded the email to the FBI, only for it to resurface in a recent dump of Epstein files from the US Justice Department. The New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard urged an investigation into the reported bodies earlier this month. The New Mexico Department of Justice reopened its criminal investigation in mid February and state lawmakers created the Truth Commission during the recently concluded legislative session

8:14to investigate Epstein's activities at the ranch. So look, I'm not going to blame the new politicians for what the previous ones did. Let's give them a chance to do the right thing, right? I try to give everybody the benefit of the doubt until you prove to me, you're an absolute moron. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. So let's see what this Truth Commission can come up with. And hopefully they subpoena people and they have a state level run investigation that the feds can't tap her with. That's crucial because we know we can't trust the DOJ and we know that Congress isn't going to install any kind of real guard rails here. They've already proven they're not going to do that. So where do we go from here? Maybe we have to take it to the state level. I was doing this six and a half years ago. Why weren't we doing this back then? Aragon said in an interview besides the ranch's gate. He doesn't expect that to change now. I tried contacting the FBI again to give them an update on the person I think is responsible

9:18for the email. There's nothing that's going to be done. Look, he's not wrong. And I hate to be cynical, but history has shown us they're not going to do shit about this. And if they really wanted to do something, the DOJ would have actually been transparent. But no, while many present pray state lawmaker efforts, Aragon called them baloney political theater that he said wouldn't target Democrats named in the files, including former president Bill Clinton and the late former governor Bill Richardson, well, there's a lot of politics at play, especially now. And it's disgusting because what it does is it puts the survivors and the victims second and instead of centering them, it centers politics. And of course, that's how things get all muddled, more confusing and how people end up justifying, not investigating things. Oh, this is just a hoax. And he said it's now too late to uncover anything, including bodies reported in the email,

10:22owing to years of development and changes to the property. The whole place is different. They revamped it. They raised the labyrinth. That's in the back, he said. Despite his doubts, he supports those who gathered Saturday. I think it's good that they're out here. He said there were victims. Yeah, there were victims. There were a lot of victims in New Mexico, 100%. Whether those victims were American girls or otherwise, I don't give a shit. A victim is a victim and the powerful praying on us has to end. I refuse to be under the fucking boot of these people. I refuse and I will not shut up about it until something changes. The ranch's new owners revealed earlier this month by the New Mexican to be the family of Don Huffins, a former Republican Texas State Senator, were ordered to seize construction on the exterior gate, which appeared half-completed Saturday, owing to a lack of a permit. The Huffins family has aimed to rehabilitate the image of the sprawling ranch, planning

11:25a Christian retreat on the site, and renaming it Rancho San Rafael, a Christian retreat on this site. Oh, that's a whole different level of weird. Now, look, I'm certainly not into the occult or anything like that. I really don't have any idea. But this seems like a desecration to me. We have a site here where people might have been murdered. We know people were raped and assaulted, but sure, let's bring a Christian camp here. Here's an idea, Mr. Rich Guy. Why don't you turn Zorro Ranch into some kind of facility that hurts people who are abused? Just a thought. You know what? It sucks to be bored. But when I get on my phone and play real casino games on SpinQuest.com, the time flies by. That two-hour wait at the DMV seems like 10 minutes. Play your favorite spots. Live Black Check, live preps, with a live dealer. New players, $30 coin packs are on sale for $10. Play SpinQuest.com, and you'll never be bored again.

12:27SpinQuest is a free to play social casino. Boydware prohibited. Visit SpinQuest.com for more details. Hi, this is Alex Cantrowitz. I'm the host of Big Technology Podcast, a longtime reporter and an on-air contributor to CNBC. And if you're like me, you're trying to figure out how artificial intelligence is changing the business world and our lives. So each week on Big Technology, I bring on key actors from companies building AI tech and outsiders trying to influence it, asking where this is all going. They come from places like Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and plenty more. So if you want to be smart with your wallet, your career choices, and meetings with your colleagues and at dinner parties, listen to Big Technology Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. The sun shining, birds are singing and all feels right in the world. Until the season changes, and suddenly you lose your motivation to get out of bed. In fact, one in five people experience some form of depression no matter the season or time of year. At the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, our vision is to build a mentally healthy

13:29nation for all because we want you to live your best life and be your best you all year round. Please visit mentallyhealthynation.org to learn more. Many attendees were struck with emotions standing on New Mexico 41, dwarfed by the half completed gate and underserved valence by cameras placed beside it. Yeah, when I went there, there was nobody there, obviously. So I went to the gate and they had all these cameras everywhere and I ring the bell, right? Nobody answers. So I ring the bell again and they have like this inner calm system. So I start talking shit, calling them cowards, jumps, the whole thing. Nobody ever showed up, not one person, not a security guard, nobody. I saw them there. They were standing on the property, but nobody showed up. And I was there for like an hour, but the real meeting potatoes of my trip came talking to people. I mean, even the lady that was running my hotel knew that something goofy was going

14:30on down at Zoro Ranch. A Santa Fe resident gave Silva 73 originally from Las Cruces, drove toward the distant hilltop manner. She gave only one word for what its image invoked, atrocities. Kim Hatch, 46, of Rio Rancho, grew emotional embracing her son William 9 as the two listened to a prayer. You have no soul she called out to the guards who were approached briefly by Santa Fe County Sheriff's deputies before they drove off. Well, let's not get too carried away on the guards. They're doing their job, right? It's the people that employ them. And I would never encourage anybody to wild out. That's what they want you to do. Don't give them what they want. Be cool, calm, collected and blast them into oblivion with facts. That's how you win. I'm absolutely outraged by what our government, local and federal is covering up, said Hatch, a survivor of sexual assault and an army veteran.

15:32Victims are not being heard, not being believed. Attendees place crosses, stuffed animals, bouquets of flowers, and solar lights at the roadside. There were posters and copies of Epstein's victim, Virginia Roberts, whose memoir released a few months after her death by suicide in which she alleges Epstein ran a sex trafficking ring of minors to serve a wealthy and powerful clientele. He most certainly did, but not in the way a lot of people think. It wasn't like Heidi Fleiss. People being shamed and stepping down from their positions, that's not accountability Hatch said. We need actual justice. Not just continue thoughts and prayers that don't mean anything. And I brought my son because he needs to know what can happen so he can be part of the next generation to make sure that God damn doesn't, and good for Miss Hatch. Raise your son to know better and to speak out when shit is not right. The memorial was organized by HotFlash ABQ, whose events usually take the shape of dances

16:38at Albuquerque bars, co-founder Kathy Barber 63 and Kathy Cundus 59, visited the ranch two weeks ago and found no sign acknowledging Epstein or his victims, something they aimed to fix. We wanted to let people know that we're going to remember the victims and stand with the survivors Barber said, likening the roadside memorial to crosses placed after car crashes. When they went to construct it, she said, one of the security personnel asked, why are you chasing a five year old story? Don't you have anything better to do? Wow, they really said that? So let me retract what I said about security a second ago and replace it with a gigantic fuck you. Mr. Tough Guy, huh? Why are you chasing a five year old story? What if it was your daughter, Tough Guy? How'd you feel about that? I know, I know, I get it. Your dear leader told you what was the hoax and you should move on. But I doubt you would be if it was your daughter.

17:39We figured, yes we do, Barber said, will organize something bigger and better. So you have to look at every single day as you drive in. She noted that the memorial is protected as it doesn't lie on the ranch property and her group aims to host future events at the site. Many attendees, including Barber, said they did not identify with a political party and instead sought accountability for all who participated in the alleged operation. Yo, that's the message, right there. Now with these political parties, there are the reason we're in this mess. It's going to be up to us folks, okay? It's going to be up to us coming together as a coalition of people who are done, people who are tired of the bullshit and people who are ready for real change. The feds ain't doing shit. Blue Gibney, 65, a construction worker from the East Mountains who identified as a political independent. They've known about this for a long time and just covered it up because it's expedient. He added, eventually they're going to have to pay attention to us.

18:43Everybody's got to realize it's not left and right. It's top going against the bottom. Hey, man, bro, 1000%. Where's the enemy? These people despise you. You didn't get that from those emails. You couldn't see that from the way they talked about you. They hate you. And your kids, they're expendable, whether it's to be abused or sent to die in some foreign entanglement. It's all the same shit to them. They don't care. You know, all these politicians care about is more power and more wealth. And they know that if we ever team up, you know, the pitchforks and the torches that their whole entire scam and scheme is up. So that's why they continue to promote all these stupid ass wedge issues that were designed to cause division. It's all part of the plan. So when I see people coming together like this and couching their politics, it gives me a little hope because I'm telling you right now, we're going to need to work together if we want real accountability. And I think rallies like this are a step in the right direction.

19:44Now what that said, do I trust the government local or otherwise to do the right thing? I do not. So I'll remain hopeful, but skeptical as we continue to navigate our way through the madness known as the Jeffrey Epstein Maelstrom. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box. You know what? It sucks to be bored, but when I get on my phone and play real casino games on SpinQuest.com, the time flies by, that two hour wait at the DMV seems like 10 minutes. Play your favorite spots, live black check, live preps with a live dealer. New players, $30 coin packs are on sale for $10. Play SpinQuest.com and you'll never be bored again. SpinQuest is a free to play social casino. Wait where prohibited? Visit SpinQuest.com for more details.