Protesters call out Trump by erecting statue of Jeffrey Epstein 'so we can really remember history'

Anonymous protesters in Albuquerque have “trolled” Donald Trump’s defence of Confederate monuments by erecting a statue of disgraced billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The bronze statue was left outside Albuquerque City Hall on Wednesday morning by a group who identified itself only as the Antlion Art Collective.

A plaque on the front, written in the font Comic Sans, proclaimed that that statue was “Generously provided to Bernalillo County by the Antlion Entertainment Art Collection."

It continued:

Jeffrey (January 20, 1953 – August 10, 2019) was an American Financier, who started as a teacher and worked his way up from a low level assistant to being one of the top financial advisers in the USA.

 He had a home in New Mexico, Zorro Ranch. 

He was also a rapist who died in prison. 

A list of cases being brought against Epstein’s estate by his accusers also appeared on the plaque.

A member of AAC said the statue was offered up as a satirical rejoinder to the fierce opposition put up by mostly right-wing individuals against removing statues that honour prominent figures in the Confederacy.

Protecting their voice and identity, the protestor told KRQE, in a clearly sarcastic comment:

You know, so many statues are being taken down, but you know, people are saying that they’re bad people, so you know maybe we just need more statues of people like Epstein because that’s historical too. 

So we maybe need statues of people like Epstein. Maybe schools can even have statue parks with people like Hitler, and Mao and Lenin just so that we can really remember history.

It’s thought the choice of Epstein, a former friend of the president until they fell out over real estate, was to make a point to Trump directly.

The statue has since been removed by Albuquerque authorities.

Epstein was convicted of a sex offence in 2008 and sentenced to 13 months in prison. He was arrested again in 2019 for sex trafficking minors, but died before reaching trial.

The statue may be gone, but its point very much remains.