The Revolution Is Here

Prince Andrew’s arrest today and Trump’s retreat from Minneapolis prove it

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (left)

The public has claimed an incredible streak of scalps this year, torn from the skulls of figures so powerful they were supposed to be untouchable.

The fall of super-elites from former Prince Andrew to Bill Gates stems from an American public hell bent on transparency around the Epstein scandal, refusing to accept one official assurance after another that there was nothing to see.

The anti-ICE protests that forced the Trump administration into retreat in Minnesota reflect the same attitude. In both cases, people were told that nothing could be done. But they didn’t listen.

The revolution is here, against royals both literal and figurative who think they have some divine right to rule over public life. But you’d never know it from the news media. They’re busy with wall-to-wall coverage of the disappearance of Today show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother.

Spoiler: at 84-years-old, I’m pretty sure this won’t end well for her regardless.

Activism is the reason for Epstein justice and the federal withdrawal in Minnesota. People demanded the files and that ICE and company leave—again and again and again. It is an unlikely coalition that cannot be reduced to one political tendency, right or left, team red or team blue, united in their demand for accountability.

Public pressure works—even in ways deemed impossible. Zohran Mamdani’s victory last year flew in the face of the expert consensus that young people don’t vote at rates high enough for a campaign like his to succeed.

The media can’t see much of this because it wants you to believe change comes from Washington (where they live).

The combined Epstein-Minnesota victory is also not merely some triumph of resistance Democrats against the Trumpublicans. It’s much bigger than that, encompassing groups as varied (and weird!) as Evangelicals obsessed with Pizzagate-style conspiracy theories, “Antifa”-types, liberals, leftists, as well as generally apolitical types, and even the NRA, which defended Alex Pretti’s right to bear arms.

Now this motley group has claimed its biggest scalp yet. Today, on his birthday, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor—previously His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, His Royal Highness The Duke of York, the Earl of Inverness, the Baron Killyleagh and I’m sure exchequer of self-enrichment—has been arrested.

The man formerly known as prince had been lying about his criminality since 2011, when he was initially stripped of his role as a UK “trade envoy” because of his involvement the Epstein crime family. The Prince then continued to feign amnesia for the next decade, but in 2022, he ended up paying victim Virginia Giuffre undisclosed millions to settle her sexual assault charge.

The wheels of justice grind slowly, but as more and more Epstein dirt emerged, King Charles III finally stripped Andrew of his title as prince and evicted his younger brother from the royal estate at Windsor. The massive Epstein dump includes photos of the former Duke of Yuck with a girl lying on the floor, and evidence of financial impropriety.

If the takedown of a literal royal isn’t enough to please just about any red-blooded American, then there’s also the demise of Bill Gates, the high priest of the Appistocracy and the canonized global do-gooder at large. With barely hours to spare, the Gates Foundation announced today that the computing god and gazillion-dollar philanthropist would not be delivering the keynote at a global AI summit in India.

“After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities, Mr. Gates will not be delivering his keynote address,” the Foundation dryly said.

The decision follows the recent disclosure of an email sent by Epstein alleging that Gates had asked him for advice about antibiotics to treat an STD contracted from “Russian girls”—so he could dose his then-wife Melinda Gates! (Bill Gates, you’ll be shocked to learn, denies this.)

These fuckers, literally, are what the media offers up as the royals who embody wisdom and leadership. Though they represent different ends of the political spectrum, they have one thing in common: money and power. That’s what connects them all, rich, politicians, million dollar media, and that’s the universal Epstein lesson: they will always invest in each other, consort with each other and protect each other.

There’s a reason why Marjorie Taylor Greene’s story rings true: that Trump complained to her in a private phone call that he couldn’t allow the Epstein files to be released because his “friends will get hurt.”

And yet the decision turned out to be above his paygrade. It belonged to the people.

Will that be the story you’ll read or hear in the media ? No, instead, what you’ll hear about the Epstein files is that the files “prove” nothing and are just some partisan tempest in a teapot, all of which ignores the reality that accountability, whatever it is and will be, is the product of public opinion and pressure. The Congressional “leadership” never supported the Epstein law; the public alone made it happen.

Similarly about Minneapolis, you’ll hear the federal retreat was the work of Congress, that Chuck Schumer or some other power broker forced x or y to happen. That the Democratic mayors and governors stood up. Assuming that’s even true—I recall days of radio silence from officials like Tim Walz—why did they stand up? Because the people forced them to.

Cynicism is a protection racket for the powerful. They’re desperate to keep you from realizing the power you have and (gasp!) using it.

— Edited by William M. Arkin