Politics
Epstein-files protest interrupts Vance’s midterm rally in Hendersonville
A protester calling for the release of the Epstein files was escorted out of Vice President JD Vance’s Oct. 19 rally in Hendersonville. Vance joked about the interruption, then turned to criticism of Democrats without addressing the demand.
A protester interrupted Vice President JD Vance during a midterm campaign rally in Hendersonville on Monday, Oct. 19, shouting, “Release the Epstein files!” and “God bless our children” before being escorted out.
The interruption came as Vance was criticizing what he called a “corrupt far-left cartel” and discussing what he described as a period of “woke insanity.” He responded with a joke about an earlier claim that there had been zero illegal border crossings in the United States, saying he would amend it because “one isn’t bad.”
Vance did not directly address the protester’s demand. Instead, he used the disruption to argue that Democrats stood for a government serving “fraudsters or criminals or illegal aliens,” and said the government belonged to American citizens.
The rally was held in western North Carolina ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The protester was not identified in the available account.