The Aftermath: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle

When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s second state visit, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded with precision.

A Provocative Film

Activists created a short documentary detailing the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents related to the investigation into that individual … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations concerning Epstein.)

The Setup

The group had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.

International press was assembled, staring at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, spread rapidly globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”

The Reveal

The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. The police are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock passed through the officers around me, and they raced into the hotel.”

A History of Activism

This was not the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider over the resort where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.

The Arrests

However, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’”

Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. The fact that they didn’t know which law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another 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: it’s designed to deal with a really concerning offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, shortly thereafter boarded a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.

An Ironic Interrogation

Later in the middle of the night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, now for causing a public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – an irony that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: an image of a large projector, secured to several drawers. Then, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

Just over one month later, every charge was dismissed.