What Happened Next: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for the former president's upcoming official trip, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent creative protest proceeded with precision.
A Provocative Film
The group produced a short documentary exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious sex offender. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents related to the criminal probe into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had booked 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. Their equipment included a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.
The world’s media had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, gained traction everywhere. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘There’s something significant to examine here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they raced into the hotel.”
Not Their First Protest
This was not their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the resort where the then-president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.
The Arrests
However, the activists were not especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled 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, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers didn’t know which law to make arrests. Upon finally entering 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 communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, then soon after 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, officers came in and arrested them again, this time for causing a public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available were from the child protection squad – an irony which was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: a picture of a giant projector, secured to several drawers. Then, the detectives struggled to maintain their composure.”
The Outcome
Just over one month later, every charge were dropped.
