Following the release of the Epstein Files, there has been a “Protect the kids” protest movement nationwide. The protest is committed to advocating for children who cannot defend themselves, while some protests were committed to protecting children’s education.

Students at Modesto Junior College (MJC) hosted the protest on Saturday. The Protest was led by the Pirates for Peace, a club on MJC that advocates leftist ideals and educates its community and members on specific topics.

About a dozen students showed up, walking from MJC East Campus to 5 points, where they stood and held their signs up for passing vehicles and people to see.

Hannah Methvin (Sophomore, Communications and Theater), the President and founder of Pirates for Peace at MJC shared that she wants the community, such as the City of Modesto and Stanislaus County, to start demanding a full release of the files.

“I think that those people also need to be looking at the Epstein files, because our elites should absolutely not have the power to do these things,” Methvin said.

She wants attention drawn to the fact that only 2% of the files were released, and wants the Modesto community to take action.

“From this protest, I want people to be more curious about what is in those files. So as a community, we can come together and demand more,” she said.

Although not many people showed up, Methvin was very happy with the turnout for the protest.

“Modesto is still a very red area, and it’s honestly hard to get people to come out here. The fact that a dozen individuals have decided to come out and join us makes me very, very happy,” she said.

The protest started out with 12 people. As the students walked, they gathered more people on the streets and handed out posters as they joined.

“I think if I’ve learned anything from this, it’s that one person can start anything,” she said. “One voice will always matter because my one voice got a dozen people out here today.”

The protestors met at MJC East Campus, then walked to Graceada Community Park, chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go,” and walked from the park to 5 points, where they spent the rest of the time protesting. People stood with the protestors in support, talking with them and praying for them.

“The Pirates for Peace loves America, and the Pirates for Peace will always support the First Amendment rights,” she said. “We obviously have some more leftist ideals, but at the end of the day, we’re out here to help the people in Stanislaus first and foremost.”

Lorelei Joy Martinez (Junior, Theatre, Child Development and Pharmacy) serves as the Inter College Council (ICC) ambassador for Pirates for Peace. She shared how hard it is to see people not believe the victims in the files and how it’s personal since she grew up a victim of abuse.

“I myself was a victim of abuse growing up as a child,” Martinez said. “I think it’s important that all of us are out here because it’s a really big cause, especially because people are scared to speak out and speak up about things that have happened to them.”

She said it’s hard for people to speak up about their experiences, and how it’s hard for her to see this abuse happen to so many people, including those younger than her.

“I wasn’t believed when I was coming out about what happened to me, and it just hurts to see other people still not being believed,” she said.

Martinez said that she wants anyone who’s been a victim to know that there’s hope, and there are people willing to fight for them and serve them justice.

“I just hope that people just know that their voices are heard. We all see them. We all love them, no matter what’s going on, and that we believe them and we are here for you. And justice should be served for these people,” she said.

Seth Rodrigues (Freshman, Political Science) is a policy translator for Pirates at Peace. He said that he’s disgusted and infuriated with the files and the people involved.

“It’s just completely disgusting to see that pedophiles being defended, but in some instances, children aren’t being defended,” Rodrigues said.

He emphasized the need for people to call their representatives and use their voices. He also said that we should know who we’re voting for and do our research.

“We really want to make our voices heard and we really want people to know that we don’t stand for this shit,” he said. “So know who your representatives are, call your representatives and be active within your community.”

He went on to explain that the protest is meant to be peaceful and that they want to make sure they are heard.

“We’re the Pirates for Peace. We don’t want conflict. We don’t seek out conflict, and we’ve specifically told everyone that we don’t stand for that,” he said.

During the protest, two boys who were driving a white truck circled the intersection multiple times. They honked their horn at the protestors in an attempt to drown out their voices, yelled out slurs and insults, and flipped off the protestors multiple times.

At first, the protestors didn’t pay much attention to the truck until it circled around the intersection 4-5 more times, honking and yelling directly at protestors.

David Smith (Sophomore, English) serves as the secretary for MJC Pirates for Peace, explained the encounter they had.

“Typically, when people honk their horn, we assume it’s good. I never had a negative interaction with him until I was speaking to him,” Smith said.

The truck pulled by the right turn lane and stayed, honking its horn repeatedly, while also shouting insults.

One protester said they yelled “Trump 2028” and racial slurs. The protestors showed their signs to the truck and continued to protest.

“Yeah, so that young gentleman, I saw him and his buddy. They had a train horn installed on their truck,” he said. “But they were making a right turn against the corner, and they were kind of honking the horn.”

About five minutes after this encounter, the truck parked in the Denny’s parking lot behind the protestors, and the driver stepped out of the vehicle, approaching the protestors.

“He was obviously hostile and obviously disagreed with what we were doing,” he said. “His buddy was in the truck recording the whole interaction, so I’m guessing they’d assumed that he was going to get out and talk to us and we were going to jump his ass.”

The protestors did not yell or harm the person, and instead tried to reason with him.

“That’s not [what] we’re here for. I’m not here to fight my fellow American. I’m not here to harm my fellow American. I’m not even here to harm the people I’m protesting against, but I think that there’s a justice system in America that should be followed,” he said.

The unidentified person stood with the protestors and started to argue with them. He said he did not think the protest was very peaceful and disagreed with them. He also said he did not care about the Epstein files and only cared about the economy.

“Everyone has the right to follow whatever they want. But it was sad to see that even though we were trying to be compassionate and caring, he wasn’t phased. Which, I mean, again, it’s not necessarily to change his opinion, but it does sadden me to see that a young person’s heart can be so filled with hate that they refuse to accept when people are being kind to them and compassionate,” Smith said.

After a while of standing with the protestors, he got back in his car and drove off and did not circle the intersection again.

“I even shook his hand, and I said, ‘I hope you have a good day because Jesus Christ teaches us not to hate. He teaches us to forgive, just as he forgave us for our sins’,” he said. “So I think whatever they thought was going to happen didn’t happen, and I’d consider that successful for us.”

Contributors to this article: Tuesday Mendez