A10 The Nation The Boston Globe MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2019

By Jack Healy
NEW YORK TIMES
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. —
Justin Williams was baking a
tray of gluten-free seeded bread
for the next morning’s farmers
market when his phone buzzed.
It was a friend who grows or-
ganic sprouts, nervously won-
dering if he should bring a shot-
gun to the market.
It has been a summer of fear,
protest, and tension in this col-
lege town ever since the popu-
lar Saturday morning farmers
market was jolted by allega-
tions that a husband and wife
who had been longtime sellers
of organic tomatoes and kale
were also white nationalists.
The accusations exploded
into public view after activists
and online sleuths used federal
court records and the leaked ar-
chives of a far-right message
board to uncover a digital trail
they say connects the couple
who own Schooner Creek Farm
to an organization that pro-
motes white nationalism and
“white American identity.”
The rumors of white su-
premacy amid the stalls of clo-
ver honey and sweet corn left
farmers and shoppers reeling:
Not even their seemingly placid
farmers market was immune

from the battles over extremism

convulsing the country at a

time of rising alarm over white

supremacist violence.

In recent weeks, residents

packed public meetings to de-

bate whether Schooner Creek

should be asked to leave or al-

lowed to stay. There were pro-

tests and counterprotests.

Some decided to stay away

from the turmoil. Others, like

Williams’s farmer friend, were

so disturbed by the unrest they

considered arming themselves.

The situation grew so vola-

tile that Bloomington’s mayor

suspended the market late last

month over public safety con-

cerns. It abruptly short-circuit-

ed the heart of Saturday morn-

ing life in this heavily white, lib-

eral town of 85,000 that is

home to Indiana University.

The market has more than 130

vendors and draws as many as

12,000 people downtown at the

height of the growing season.

“It’s been the most challeng-

ing, complex, difficult situation

this market has faced in its 45-

year history,” said Marcia Veld-

man, the market coordinator.

Anti-fascist protesters

showed up one weekend

dressed in black to stand in

front of Schooner Creek Farm’s

vegetable stall. A week later,

armed members of a conserva-

tive militia group drove into

Bloomington to support the

farm against what they called

anti-fascist enemies. Online,

members of white nationalist

groups have rallied behind

Schooner Creek.

Schooner Creek’s owners de-

ny being white supremacists

and say they keep their political

beliefs out of the market. They

have said on social media that

they are being harassed, de-

monized, and hounded out of

the farmers market by left-wing

activists because of “a handful

of mildly pro-white comments.”

They have not been accused of

any wrongdoing or violence,

and say they are victims of “the

cult of the left.”

The farmers did not respond

to questions about their beliefs

or political activities, but Sarah

Dye, one of Schooner Creek’s

owners, told the Fox 59 televi-

sion station that “we absolutely

reject supremacy.”

“I am disgusted at the level

of lies, misinformation, false-

hoods, and intimidation by

those who do not know me or

my family,” she said, calling her-

self “an identitarian,” with a

worldview that “emphasizes the

importance of identity.”

Brian Levin, director of the

Center for the Study of Hate

and Extremism at California

State University San Bernardi-

no, described the European-

rooted identitarian movement

as repackaged white supremacy

that opposed immigration and

promoted white identity.

In early August, when police

said they were investigating fly-

ers found around Bloomington

that showed a hooded Klans-

man and proclaimed a Klan

“neighborhood watch” — a

menacing reminder that one of

the largest, most powerful

branches of the Ku Klux Klan

was once centered in Indiana. A

police spokesman said they

have identified no suspects.

“It wears on you,” Williams,

the gluten-free baker, said.

His wife, Brandi, who is bi-

racial, said the couple began

worrying for their safety after

she spoke at a meeting.

In an e-mail, Dye, who runs

Schooner Creek with her hus-

band, Douglas Mackey, said she

had no plans to leave the mar-

ket, despite pressure from ac-

tivists who now hand out but-

tons that say “Don’t Buy Veg-

gies From Nazis.”

“I have helped establish oth-

er farmers markets in the area

and we have strong ties to our

community,” Dye wrote. “We

look forward to participating in

the Bloomington Community

Farmers Market for many more

years to come.”

By Curt Anderson

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI — She has been

called Jeffrey Epstein’s madam,

the woman who recruited girls

for his sexual appetites, and at

times his social planner and

household organizer in places

ranging from New York to

Palm Beach, Fla.

Ghislaine Maxwell, the

daughter of a British publish-

ing magnate who died under

mysterious circumstances, is

one of the most prominent fig-

ures left from the Epstein orbit

after his suicide in jail while

awaiting trial on sex trafficking

charges.

And she could well be a co-

conspirator in the crosshairs of

federal prosecutors, who have

made clear the case is far from

over.

‘‘If I were drafting an indict-

ment against her, it would be

the same conspiracy to traffic

in underage minors,’’ said Da-

vid S. Weinstein, a former fed-

eral prosecutor now in private

practice in Miami. ‘‘That’s

what it is. That’s what the con-

spiracy would be.’’

An attorney for Maxwell did

not respond Friday to a request

for comment.

Maxwell, 57, is an elusive

character whose father, pub-

lisher Robert Maxwell, died in

1991 after falling off his yacht

near the Canary Islands. It

turned out that he had illegally

looted pension funds from his

businesses, according to news

accounts at the time.

The name of that yacht: La-

dy Ghislaine.

A Robert Maxwell biogra-

pher, Tom Bower, says Ghis-

laine Maxwell was the young-

est of his children and a favor-

ite of her father — hence, the

yacht’s name.

‘‘I think in his home, she

never really learned the differ-

ence between right and

wrong,’’ Bower told National

Public Radio recently. ‘‘And the

other tragedy for her was that

she was dominated by him,

and she learned from him to

worship wealth and money

and power and influence and

really had very little sentiment

for what might be called the lit-

tle people.’’

Eventually, Maxwell landed

in Epstein’s world in the

wealthy enclave of Palm Beach

and bought a home in Manhat-

tan, where Epstein also had an

opulent mansion worth as

much as $77 million. Accord-

ing to lawsuits filed by Epstein

accusers, she became a recruit-

er of young girls for Epstein, as

well as his household manager

and social circuit organizer.

In Florida, Epstein pleaded

guilty to prostitution-related

charges with minors in 2008

and served 13 months in jail,

where he was allowed out on

work release almost every day.

At the time, his lawyers

reached a nonprosecution

agreement with the Justice De-

partment that spared him a po-

tential life prison sentence if

convicted on federal charges.

It was after the Miami Her-

ald published stories last year

that New York prosecutors

took up the case and won an

indictment against Epstein, 66,

for trafficking in minors, carry-

ing a potential 45-year prison

sentence. While that was pend-

ing, Epstein killed himself in

jail last Saturday.

That was only one more

part of a sordid saga spanning

decades, with Maxwell a key

part of it, court documents

show.

Juan Alessi, who managed

Epstein’s home in Palm Beach

for years, said in a deposition

that Maxwell was essentially

the lady of the house.

‘‘She would tell me, I am go-

ing to take care of the house,’’

Alessi said in the deposition,

adding later that he drove Max-

well to South Florida spas to

look for young women who

could do ‘‘massages’’ for Ep-

stein, their code for sexual acts.

‘‘I remember one occasion

or two occasions she would say

to me, ‘Juan, give me a list of all

the spas in Palm Beach Coun-

ty,’ ’’ Alessi said. ‘‘And I will

drive her from one to the other

one.’’

In one of the lawsuits, Vir-

ginia Roberts Giuffre laid out

in detail what was believed to

be Maxwell’s role in Epstein’s

alleged sex trafficking ring,

which other women have

echoed in similar claims. Giuf-

fre, 15 at the time, says she was

working at the Mar-a-Lago

club owned by future President

Trump when she was ap-

proached by Maxwell about a

way to earn good money: learn

massage therapy and get to

know Epstein as a man who

could give her a bright future.

Giuffre says in a sworn affi-

davit that she was trained by

Maxwell and Epstein to be-

come ‘‘everything a man want-

ed me to be’’ and that she was

flown on Epstein’s private

planes to his properties in New

Mexico, the US Virgin Islands,

Paris, and New York. Giuffre al-

so says Maxwell arranged

meetings for sex in London

and elsewhere with Britain’s

Prince Andrew.

Buckingham Palace has de-

nied any wrongdoing by the

prince, but there is a photo in

court records showing Andrew

with his arm around Giuffre’s

waist with Maxwell smiling

happily in the background.

‘‘Ghislaine Maxwell was

heavily involved in the illegal

sex. I understood her to be a

very powerful person,’’ Giuffre

said in the affidavit. ‘‘She used

Epstein’s money and he used

her name and connections to

gain power and prestige.’’

Maxwell has vehemently de-

nied claims by Giuffre and the

others in court documents.

‘‘The allegations made against

me are abhorrent and entirely

untrue and I ask that they

stop,’’ she said in a 2011 news

release.

Maxwell has said nothing

publicly since Epstein’s death

and could not be reached for

comment.

Maxwell is not charged with

any crime, but New York prose-

cutors have said that Epstein’s

death does not end their inves-

tigation into who might have

helped him gain access to so

many dozens of girls. There are

other names on that list who

could face prosecution, as well.

The whereabouts of Max-

well are also mysterious. News

reports had her living in Brit-

ain, Paris, and with a tech CEO

in Massachusetts, but he told

reporters this week that was

not true. And then Thursday,

the New York Post published a

story with photos saying Max-

well was spotted eating at an

In-N-Out burger restaurant in

Los Angeles while reading a

book about secret CIA opera-

tives.

In any event, lawyers for Ep-

stein’s victims say Maxwell will

not skate away from her past.

‘‘It’s very important to hold

all Epstein enablers account-

able,’’ said attorney Lisa Bloom,

who has filed lawsuits against

Epstein’s estate on behalf of

several of his accusers. ‘‘Justice

for victims includes justice for

everyone who knowingly made

his predations possible.’’

Allegations of white supremacy roil a farmers market

Couple say they’re

just identitarians

MARK FELIX/NEW YORK TIMES

A vendor set up her stand at the farmers market in Bloomington, Ind. The owners of

Schooner Creek Farm (not pictured) have been accused of promoting white supremacy.

Looking for Epstein’s suspected ‘madam’

Prosecutors focus

on alleged abettor

DOMINIQUE MOLLARD/AP/FILE 1991

Lawsuits have claimed that

Ghislaine Maxwell had a

role in Jeffrey Epstein’s

alleged sex trafficking ring.

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