The Aftermath: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for the former president's second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go unprotested. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed especially servile. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded like clockwork.
A Provocative Film
Activists created a nine-minute film exploring the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents from the investigation into Epstein … Now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)
The Setup
The activists had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast views of the castle and, more crucially, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a public rubbish bin outside.
The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, spread rapidly everywhere. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘This is something significant to look at here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower needs some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
This was not the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action targeting Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider near the resort where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
The Arrests
But, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about detainment. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” The police response was rapid, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “Wearing jumpsuits and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. The fact that officers didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “one officer started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to address a really concerning offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, displayed on a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Later that night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, now for public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the only officers available were from the child protection unit – a twist which was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists just answered every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photo: “They asked, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: an image of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. Then, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
Just over one month later, every charge were dropped.
