The Aftermath: The Night The Activist Group Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for the former president's second state visit, including a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent creative protest proceeded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a short documentary exploring the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents from the investigation into Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)
The Setup
The group had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, atop a public rubbish bin outside.
International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction globally. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something significant to examine here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.”
The Reveal
The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower needs some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; nor was it their first effort targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider over the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. The following year, officers warned him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
But, the group's creators were not overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy goes into wanting the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They had located the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that they were unsure which law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other activists were then arrested for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a really concerning offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time in the middle of the night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – a twist which was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: a picture of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the officers were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Outcome
Just over one month later, every charge was dismissed.
