Billboard near busy Shreveport shopping area calls for release of ‘ALL the Epstein Files’

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – An organization that supports victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation placed a billboard at a busy Shreveport intersection to send a message to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

The billboard, which is placed at the corner of E. 70th Street and Youree Drive, reads, “Courage is Contagious: Release ALL The Epstein Files.” World Without Exploitation, a national coalition that combats human trafficking and sexual exploitation, created the billboard campaign. The organization has worked closely with survivors who endured sexual abuse and exploitation by Jeffrey Epstein and his former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell.

World Without Exploitation National Director Lauren Hersh said, “For them (the survivors), this is not political at all. It is deeply personal. And that is why we have billboards going up around the country, and specifically for our purposes in Speaker Johnson’s district.” They are asking members of Congress to release the Epstein investigation in its entirety, only redacting the names of victims and survivors.

Hersh said the billboard campaign started in Colorado Springs, where the family of Virginia Giuffre lives. Giuffre was one of the most vocal survivors of Epstein and Maxwell. She tragically died of a suicide in April this year at her home in Australia, months before her memoir, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting For Justice, was posthumously released.

The billboards in Colorado were posted in the districts of Republican members of Congress: one voted yes to release the files, and the other has not voted in favor of the release. Hersh said the group’s action is deliberately non-partisan: “We wanted to send a clear message that Virginia was truly such an inspiration to so many survivors. Her family has carried her torch.”

She said their campaign is not limited to elected members of the nation’s legislature.

“We want to urge members and constituents to make sure these files get released, and all of the files, not just some of them but all of them,” Hersh said.

Spectators of the ongoing Epstein saga have noted the swift and decisive action taken by the British Royal Family, who first suspended Prince Andrew from his royal duties and have now completely stripped him of his title as Duke of York and removed his banner that once hung in Windsor Castle. Oppositely, in America, where leaders seem not to know what to say or do in response to the question, “What is in the Epstein files?”

Hersh said she believes this is a critical cultural moment, “Because at this moment, what we’re seeing is the American people who are paying close attention to survivors’ voices. And those survivors are demanding accountability. And the government works for the people. And so I feel really optimistic. We are seeing people from across the aisle and across the pond saying, ‘This is a moment for accountability.'”

She believes that ultimately the voices of the American people will become too loud to ignore.

Hersh said that educating oneself on what human trafficking is and how so many women, youth, LGBTQIA individuals find themselves in these situations. She suggests reading Virginia Giuffre’s memoir to learn what she and others endured at the hands of not only Epstein and Maxwell but the men who supported them in their sexual predation. She also says to listen to other survivors. There are hours of podcasts, broadcast interviews, and documentaries where these women shared their experiences of abuse.

The website worldwithoutexploitation.org includes a link for constituents to take action and send a letter to their member of Congress, urging them to sign the discharge petition and ensure the Epstein Files Transparency Act is passed in the House. She said the organization will move on to the Senate should the House pass the measure.

Hersh acknowledges the argument that some members of Congress would use to rebut the organization’s demands for transparency – information from the Epstein investigation has been released, to some degree. But Hersh counters that they want it released in its entirety – interviews with state and federal investigators, photographs, and the names of those who fueled Epstein and Maxwell’s enterprise, the sex buyers.

“If there were no sex, if there were no sex buyers, then we know there would be no sex trafficking at all. And when we’re thinking about this and we’re educating ourselves, it’s critically important that we understand, yes, the traffickers, we’ve got to hold them accountable. The victims, yes, we’ve got to make sure that we’re getting them the necessary exit strategies and services. But we als have to be talking about the sex buyers who are fueling the market and causing a tremendous amount of harm,” Hersh said.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s office was contacted to provide a statement or an interview for this story. They did not respond to the request by the time of publication.