This Sunday, Defend Democracy Abilene gathered with community members at Oscar Rose Park Amphitheater to demand that action be taken against government officials suspected of being connected to sex trafficking crimes involving Jeffrey Epstein.
The group organized Sunday’s demonstration as just one part of their effort to advocate on behalf of sex-trafficking victims.
One of the organizers, Riley Rodriquez, is running for Texas Senate District 28. Rodriquez said he’s frustrated at how little has actually been done on this issue.“
People are reporting on it, and people are like, ‘Oh no,’ but like, nobody’s doing anything. And somebody’s got to do something,” Rodriquez said.
Rodriquez drafted a bill that would amend the US Constitution. The bill says that every government official who has been involved with an individual convicted of a federal crime will be required to sit for a public hearing and be questioned. If there’s evidence of criminal conduct, the government official would be held to the same legal standards as any other US citizen.
The Texas legislature will need to get on board with the bill, and then 37 other state legislatures will need to approve the bill for it to be implemented.
"I understand that it’s a Herculean-like task to get 38 states to agree with it, but regardless of how this ends up, you will have a much clearer view on who it is that is sitting behind your government desks and who they actually support,” Rodriquez said.
Rodriquez printed out 300 letters that lay out the contents of the drafted bill. People who attended the gathering on Sunday printed their names and signatures on the letters. Rodriquez said he will mail each letter to Governor Abbott in its own envelope, because “nothing’s more annoying than getting 300 separate letters. And that is what you have to do. You have to be a thorn in their side until it festers and they have to do something with it.”
Defend Democracy is fighting for justice for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and others at the federal level. They also wanted to make a public show of support for survivors locally through Sunday’s event.
Chellby Taylor, a trafficking survivor from Abilene, spoke at the gathering. Taylor said that victims are usually trafficked by somebody they know. Taylor said her mother suffered from mental health issues and trafficked her in exchange for drugs.
Taylor said the lack of action taken to investigate who is in the Epstein files sends the message that anyone can hurt children without accountability and consequence.
“These babies are being sold and raped and murdered for somebody’s sick fetish,” Taylor said. “And so it’s important to me that these victims and these survivors see justice, because every single time an allegation goes without investigation, it props up the perpetrator and it invalidates the survivor.”
Taylor said she wants people to stop questioning the stories of victims and survivors, and to stop thinking that they are looking for attention or exaggerating.
"I’m begging people to listen to survivors, just sit and listen. You don’t have to talk back. You don’t have to fix it. You don’t have to do any of that. But if you sit with them and listen to their lived experience, it does more for us than anything else,” Taylor said.
Both Taylor and Rodriquez said that this issue goes beyond political beliefs.
"And that’s because, you see, it should be pretty cut and dry. You know, this is not cool. This is not a red and blue issue. This is a soul of America issue. Is this really what we are going to be built on, is protecting pedophiles?” Rodriquez said.
Rodriquez said he plans to lobby at the state Capitol to push the draft forward. Organizers are also looking for more individuals to join the effort by sending their own letters of support.
An online petition form and a copy of the group’s prewritten letter are available on Defend Democracy Abilene’s Facebook page.
Rodriquez encourages people of all political persuasions to work together for justice for victims of trafficking.