What Happened Next: The Night The Activist Group Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for the former president's upcoming official trip, including a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded with precision.
A Provocative Film
Activists created a short documentary exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents related to the criminal probe into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside.
The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. 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 convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers something tangible to share, saying: ‘There’s something really serious 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 official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building requires some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt goes through the officers around me, and they raced into the hotel.”
Not Their First Protest
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action targeting Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider over the resort where the president was staying in Scotland. The following year, officers warned him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.
The Arrests
But, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this really calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that they didn’t know which law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional activists were then arrested for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to address a serious 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. While the others were detained, he slipped away, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Some time that night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, now for public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection squad – an irony that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: an image of a large projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the detectives struggled to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
A little more than one month later, every charge was dismissed.
