Independent journalist Tara Palmeri says security removed her, her producer and three survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse from the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on September 10, 2026, about 35 minutes after they arrived and shortly after she questioned a Republican House candidate about the Epstein files. This entry rests on her account, which she documented in video on X and YouTube and in her Substack newsletter, and which Newsweek, Mediaite and The New Republic reported. The Republican National Committee has not publicly commented on it.
Palmeri had a media credential. The others had guest passes and were admitted. One of the survivors has since identified herself on X as Marijke Chartouni. Shortly after entering, at about 2:05 p.m., Palmeri interviewed Robert Burke, a Republican candidate in Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District, who said, “We really need to know what actually happened,” and that he would support a second Epstein Files Transparency Act. Pressed on who controls the Justice Department, he said, “Trump does,” while saying he disagreed with the premise of her question.
The interview lasted about eight minutes. Shortly afterward, according to Palmeri, at least three security personnel approached. Footage she posted shows a guard asking about signs and saying the group was not where media sit, while Palmeri points to their clear bags and says, “We don't have signs!” She said she repeatedly asked why they were being removed and that no one identified a convention rule she had broken. By about 2:40 p.m. the group was outside the security barricade, and she said she was told she was barred from the facility and could be arrested for trespassing if she returned. Newsweek reported she said her press credential had been revoked.
What is established, and what is not: the removal is on video, and the RNC has not offered a reason for it. That it happened because of the Epstein questions is Palmeri's reading of the sequence. “We obviously hit the third rail,” she said, “Epstein at an event for President Trump” (see A Second Epstein Files Bill Reaches 106 Signatures as Massie Accuses the Justice Department of Unnecessary Redactions).