thelogfile.com · A door

Protests

This door is a standing page for protest information: the effort to free Rafael Nuñez Penna, who has been held at the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center in Missouri since October 21, 2026, and peaceful protest guidance in general. A door is a place to participate. Read what is here, plan with it, and leave a note in the comment box at the bottom.

Not near Missouri? Tell us where you are on the Rafael page and we will send you your own representatives' numbers and a letter ready to send.

A peaceful presence at Ste. Genevieve

The event this door tracks is a peaceful presence outside the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center, 5 Basler Drive, Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. The goal, stated plainly: attention and pressure so Rafael is released and gets his hearing.

Family visitation at the facility is Sundays, 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM Central, which makes Sunday the day families are present. A protest keeps different hours than a jail. Visiting hours are the jail's clock; a protest does not punch out. People stand in turns, so nobody stands outside that door alone.

One thing is said at the top because it governs everything below: the officers on duty are not the enemy. It is the system that is broken. The people working the gate did not write the policy that put Rafael Nuñez Penna in a cell, and this presence is not aimed at them. It is aimed at the record, and at the system that made it.

Hours and coordination

No fixed protest schedule exists yet. This door is where times will be posted as they are set. Anyone planning to go is encouraged to leave a note in the comment box below, so turns can be coordinated and nobody goes alone.

How to approach

Go down there the way you would want someone to come to your own workplace: calm, visible, and easy to deal with. Stand on public ground where the public is allowed to stand. Keep a respectful distance from the gate, from vehicles, and from anybody coming or going, staff and families alike, and keep your tone the same way. If an officer speaks to you, be courteous, listen to the whole instruction, and follow lawful instructions on the spot, even if you plan to question them later through the desk. A short, polite presence that comes back every week says more than one loud afternoon. If you are asked who you are, say it plainly: you are there because Rafael Nuñez Penna is held inside, and you are asking for his release.

Safety and preparation

• Peaceful presence only. That is the whole method.
• Stay on public ground.
• Never block gates, entrances, driveways, or vehicles.
• Follow lawful instructions from the officers on the spot.
• Keep it peaceful at all times, in distance and in tone: the officers on duty are not the enemy, the system is broken.
• Go with another person when you can, and tell someone where you will be and when you expect to be back.
• Bring water, weather appropriate clothing, and a charged phone.
• Carry the facility address written down: Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center, 5 Basler Drive, Ste. Genevieve, MO 63670.
• Signs are welcome. Keep the words factual.
• Do not record inside the facility, and follow facility rules at the door.
• Look after each other, and leave the ground cleaner than you found it.

If something goes wrong

Step back first. De-escalate with space and quiet, not with argument: do not argue at the fence, with anybody, about anything. If you feel unsafe, leave the spot and get somewhere you feel steady. Afterward, while it is fresh, write down what happened: names, times, and what was said, in order. Then contact the desk at [email protected], or the Ashrei Rapid Response Hotline at 314-370-7080, bilingual, 7 AM to 7 PM daily, and tell them what you wrote down. The desk keeps the record, and the record is how a bad moment becomes evidence instead of a story.

The full case record is on the Rafael page, including visiting hours and the audio briefings. The questions reporters and visitors ask most are answered on the PRESS FAQ page. For the deeper discussion underneath this door, where the constitutional lines in enforcement through county jails are argued from the text and the cases, see the Constitutional Discussion door.