Downtown Los Angeles has become an unexpected battleground in the ongoing political and cultural war over the legacy of Jeffrey Epstein, the controversial financier whose 2019 death in federal custody continues to fuel conspiracy theories and political infighting. On September 22, 2025, a digital projection of FBI Director Kash Patel’s face—eyes darting suspiciously—lit up a building at the corner of 2nd Street and Beaudry Avenue. It was the latest in a string of satirical “guerrilla projections” by the anonymous street art collective Vjaybombs, whose work has become a staple of the city’s nightscape and a barometer for the mood of the working class, according to Hyperallergic.
For months, Vjaybombs has used the city’s walls as their canvas, beaming biting images that lampoon political figures from Donald Trump to Fox News commentators, and even the embattled late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Their Instagram account, now boasting nearly 100,000 followers, chronicles these ephemeral moments of protest art. “We like to see our projections as a reflection of how our community feels; specifically, the working class who spend a lot of time on the street,” a member of Vjaybombs told Hyperallergic, emphasizing their commitment to humor and anti-fascist messaging. “Guerrilla projection is very useful because it allows us to take over a big space without damaging or ruining any property.”
The group’s satirical bent is clear. In June, they projected Fox News personalities with the chyron: “Fox News Alert: Be Afraid!!” Another projection depicted Jesus being arrested by ICE agents, beamed directly across from the American Civil Liberties Union’s downtown LA office. Their targets have included everyone from far-right Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Most of our work aims to be comedic because we like to use humor to convey ideas and protest,” Vjaybombs explained.
But the group’s activism isn’t just about laughs. Their projections are tightly linked to the day’s headlines. When Jimmy Kimmel’s show was suspended after he criticized the MAGA movement’s response to the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Vjaybombs quickly responded with a moving graphic of Trump silencing Kimmel, projected onto the El Capitan Theatre where the show is filmed. “We often portray prominent figures who we see are bending the knee to Trump and MAGA,” the collective said. “We try to keep our projections relevant to what’s happening in the current news cycle, and from there we discuss what issues we think are important to shine a light on.”
In July, Vjaybombs pivoted to a more pointed political message, calling for former President Joe Biden to step out of the presidential race over concerns about his mental state. Since then, their technical skills have evolved, shifting from text-based to image-rich projections that interact with the city’s architecture. “It’s easy to get overwhelmed, scared, and even complacent … but a little bit of humor can change or even cure how we take in the news,” they reflected.
Meanwhile, the political storm swirling around the so-called “Epstein files” has reached fever pitch. On September 27, 2025, Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene ignited social media by declaring on her X account, “I am not suicidal and one of the happiest healthiest people you will meet.” She warned her followers, “With that said, if something happens to me, I ask you all to find out which foreign government or powerful people would take heinous actions to stop the information from coming out.” According to the Associated Press, Greene’s dramatic statement came as she intensified her push for the release of documents related to Epstein’s criminal enterprise—an effort that has both galvanized and divided Washington.
Greene is not alone in her demands. She’s one of four Republican representatives—alongside Thomas Massie, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert—supporting a discharge petition to force a House vote on the release of the Epstein files. All Democratic members have signed on as well, bringing the total to 216 votes. The petition, if it reaches a majority, could bring the issue to the House floor without leadership’s consent. The vote could happen as soon as Monday, September 29, after the swearing-in of Arizona’s Adelita Grijalva, according to The Independent.
Greene’s crusade has not endeared her to her party’s leadership—or to former President Trump. According to The New York Times, a Trump official warned Greene that supporting the bipartisan legislation would be seen as a “very hostile act.” Greene recounted her response: “I told them, ‘You didn’t get me elected. I do not work for you; I work for my district.’” She added, “We aren’t supposed to just be whipping on our votes because they’re telling us what to do with this scary threat, or saying, ‘We’ll primary you,’ or that we won’t get invited to the White House events.” Greene was blunt about her resistance to such pressure: “Me personally? I don’t care.”
The rift is especially striking given Greene’s past as a MAGA stalwart. Trump himself, who once promised to release the “Epstein files,” has shifted his stance. He now dismisses the controversy as “total bulls***” and a “Democrat hoax that never ends,” as reported by The New York Times. The Justice Department and FBI, for their part, attempted to close the book with a brief memo stating that no “client list” existed and that Epstein died by suicide. But the public, and many in Congress, remain unsatisfied—especially after recent document releases showed meetings between Epstein and high-profile individuals like Steve Bannon, Prince Andrew, and Peter Thiel, according to Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.
In a surreal twist, President Trump has launched “Operation Basement Sweep,” deploying U.S. troops to the basement of Portland’s ICE facility in a search for the elusive files. According to local Portland news, Trump—who only months ago dismissed the scandal as a “Democrat hoax” and “totally irrelevant”—now reportedly demands daily updates on the search for the documents. Troops have been seen hauling out filing cabinets, interrogating photocopiers, and knocking on walls, but so far, the only discoveries are expired printer toner and a pile of unpaid parking tickets from 2007. Pentagon officials, with a hint of exasperation, admitted, “We can’t confirm or deny the existence of any files in the ICE basement, but we can confirm that this is the first time in history the United States military has been deployed to search for a filing cabinet.”
Trump, undeterred by the lack of results, has vowed to expand the operation to “every single basement in America,” promising that the documents, if found, will be “the greatest files anyone has ever seen—tremendous, historic, and frankly, very, very shiny.” His supporters see this pivot as evidence of his persistence, while critics point out the irony of mobilizing military resources to chase after paperwork he once dismissed as boring.
The fight over the Epstein files has become a proxy for deeper battles over transparency, accountability, and the limits of political loyalty. As Vjaybombs’ projections flicker across Los Angeles, and as lawmakers trade barbs in Washington, the public is left to wonder: Will the truth ever come to light, or will it remain hidden in the shadows—perhaps in a basement somewhere, waiting to be found?
