Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert suggested during a recent Newsmax appearance that newly reviewed, unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files contain “code words,” leading to speculation about conduct even more disturbing than the already documented sex-trafficking crimes.
At the same time, Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna discussed her review of widely circulated Epstein emails during an appearance on The Benny Show, hosted by Benny Johnson, and said similar things.
Boebert and Luna are among a small group of lawmakers who have said they reviewed unredacted portions of Epstein-related investigative materials, stemming from federal investigations into Epstein’s sex-trafficking network and related civil litigation disclosures.
Boebert: “It wasn’t only the trafficking of young girls”
Speaking with NewsMax’s Rob Schmitt, Boebert said, “It wasn’t only the trafficking of young girls, as the narrative suggests, but there are code words that suggest Jeffrey Epstein and his associates could maybe even be engaging in some sort of consumption.”
She added, “Is that human consumption? Are there code words? There’s a lot of talk of beef jerky. There’s a restaurant called The Cannibal where the owner is listed in some of these documents.”
She added that the restaurant in question “isn’t a restaurant that is just proclaiming to serve human meat by any means.” But she noted, “there’s a lot of conspiracies that make you wonder.”
She went on to describe emails about torture, alleging coded language, “but the topic was clear.” Torture, Boebert said, “was a big driver for them. And these were sick people doing very, very sick things.”
Luna: “Jerky” is a code word, and it’s “weird”
Meanwhile, Luna told Johnson, “I looked directly at the emails that have been widely circulated about the ‘Age 11’,” and what she called “the ‘Permission to Kill’ email,” sent by women to Epstein, many of whom were victims groomed to become traffickers themselves, she alleged. She also mentioned “‘Jerky’ — whatever that is,” alleging, “It’s a code word, and it’s weird.”
Both lawmakers have framed their comments as raising questions about the language used in emails connected to Epstein’s circle. However, neither provided evidence that the documents substantiate claims of cannibalism or human consumption.
Epstein cannibalism rumors
Online rumors linking Epstein to cannibalism predate the latest document releases. For years, conspiracy theories have circulated on fringe forums alleging that powerful elites engaged in ritualistic abuse, torture, or even cannibalism.
References to terms like “beef jerky” or the name of a New York restaurant called The Cannibal have been interpreted by some online communities as coded language. There is no verified evidence that these terms refer to human consumption. “The Cannibal” could mean The Cannibal Beer & Butcher, a now-closed, otherwise legitimate establishment with former locations in New York and California.
Epstein and Gabriela Rico Jimenez
Another claim related to what Luna and Boebert said and the newly released Epstein documents involves a viral video from August 2009 showing a young Mexican woman identified as Gabriela Rico Jimenez, which has recently resurfaced. In the footage, Jimenez — then reported to be 21 — is seen outside a hotel in Monterrey, Mexico, in visible distress and making startling statements about elite attendees at a private event “eating a person” and other extreme conduct before local police took her into custody.
Online posts have circulated the video again in early 2026, often paired with speculation that the Christmas release of over three million pages of unredacted Epstein‑related emails and investigative material somehow “confirms” her allegations. Mainstream media and independent fact‑checkers caution that while the unsettling video is real, her allegations have never been verified and have no documented connection to Epstein’s investigations.
Published: Feb 11, 2026 04:09 pm