DinoCon, a U.K.-based paleontology convention, issued a statement regarding the scientists, authors and researchers named in the Epstein Files, noting those associated with the late sex offender were officially banned from the annual event.
While the convention’s statement did not name the individuals directly, the Monday announcement made it clear that DinoCon would not tolerate their presence at the July event.
“We at DinoCon take the safety of our attendees, speakers and staff very seriously,” the convention’s statement on X noted. “As a result of the release of half of the Epstein files, it has come to light that a select number of scientists, authors and researchers relevant to the field of paleontology allegedly engaged in correspondence with members of the Epstein organization after the convictions of Jeffrey Epstein. We want to state that all respective individuals are banned from all our events.”
The note continued: “Additionally, we find it deplorable that some established palaeontological organizations are not taking firm action to protect their members in light of these allegations. As such, executive committee members from organizations that are not issuing public bans to these individuals are also banned from our events. We do not tolerate those who allow this behavior to go unchallenged within our community.”
Per the convention’s website, DinoCon, which was launched in 2025, followed “the highly successful, 11-year run of TetZooCon, a convention and conference dedicated to natural history run by paleontologist Dr. Darren Naish and paleoartist John Conway.”
The new dinosaur-theme convention is meant to combine “the world of paleontology, paleoart, natural history and paleo-news to celebrate all things prehistoric.” The 2026 DinoCon is set to take place on July 25 and 26 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.
— DinoCon (@DinoConUK) February 9, 2026
DinoCon’s statement comes in the wake of the U.S. Department of Justice releasing 3 million pages from the Epstein Files at the end of January. Several high-profile figures were named in the dropped documents, including Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Peter Attia, Barry Josephson, Casey Wasserman and nearly 30 prominent scientists, according to Nature.
While Musk and Gates outright denied claims tied to the Epstein Files, Attia, Josephson and Wasserman apologized for their connection to the late sex offender — but denied being involved in any wrongdoing.
