The Unfolding Events: The Night 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, including a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as particularly craven. Their next creative protest unfolded with precision.
A Provocative Film
Activists created a nine-minute film exploring the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents related to the criminal probe into that individual … And now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)
The Setup
The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside.
The world’s media was assembled, staring at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. The film, however, spread rapidly globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘This is something significant to examine here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and the police all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort against Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. A year later, officers warned him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
But, the activists weren't especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” Officers was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers didn’t know which law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with a really concerning offence. To throw it at a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, then soon after was on a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers.
An Ironic Interrogation
Later in the middle of the night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection unit – a twist which was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: a picture of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. Then, the officers were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
A little more than a month later, every charge were dropped.
