The man who breached security at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate Sunday was “fixated” on the Jeffrey Epstein files, believing there was a “government cover-up” protecting his accomplices.
TMZ obtained a text message sent by Austin Tucker Martin, 21, to a co-worker on Feb. 15, 2026.
“I don’t know if you read up on the Epstein Files, but evil is real and unmistakable,” the text read.
“The best people like you and I can do is use what little influence we have. Tell other people about what you hear about the Epstein files and what the government is doing about it. Raise awareness,” Martin continued.
Sources who worked with Martin at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in North Carolina said he was fixated on Epstein after the latest information was released.
Co-workers said he was disturbed by what he believed was a government cover-up and talked about powerful people “getting away with it.”
Martin also “regularly expressed support” for Trump and, as recently as late last year, he believed Trump was a strong leader.
“I don’t know if you read up on the Epstein Files, but evil is real and unmistakable,” Martin said in the recent text messages. “The best people like you and I can do is use what little influence we have. Tell other people about what you hear about the Epstein files and what the government is doing about it. Raise awareness.”
Martin was described as well-meaning but was increasingly frustrated, in matters such as the economy.
TMZ was told he complained young people needed two jobs or roommates to afford moving out. Martin still lived with his parents.
Martin was shot on after he tried breaking into Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and a gas canister. The sheriff of Palm Beach County reported Martin aimed his gun at officers before he was shot dead.
The incident comes less than a month after the latest batch of Epstein-related files were released by the Justice Department.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the DOJ has complied with federal law and released “all” Epstein documents.
Trump has said the files “absolve” him of any wrongdoing.
