Overview
- On Friday, Sept. 11, investigative reporter Tara Palmeri was escorted out of the Republican National Committee midterm convention in Dallas after her credential was revoked and she was warned she could be arrested for trespassing if she returned.
- Palmeri had just conducted an on-camera exchange with GOP congressional nominee Robert Burke while accompanied by three Jeffrey Epstein survivors, and Burke told the group he would push to release Epstein-related files if elected.
- Security staff approached the group minutes after the interview, asked whether they were carrying signs, took Palmeri’s media pass, and removed her from the convention floor while witnesses reported a plainclothes woman nearby who placed a call during the exchange.
- Palmeri says she repeatedly asked RNC officials what rule she had violated, has not received an explanation, and plans to publish video of the interaction that she says documents the removal.
- The incident spotlights ongoing demands for public release of Epstein-era records, survivor advocacy at political events, and disputes over media access and on-site enforcement, with coverage drawing on Palmeri’s first-person account and no public response from the RNC so far.