The Aftermath: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s second state visit, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass without a statement. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a short documentary exploring the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous sex offender. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files from the criminal probe into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
The Setup
The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast views of the castle and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden 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. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘This is 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 the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they raced 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 over the resort where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, officers warned him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.
The Arrests
But, the group's creators were not especially worried about detainment. “My nervous energy goes into wanting the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” Officers was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that officers were unsure which law to make arrests. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other team members were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to address a serious offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, appeared contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, then soon after was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Later that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection squad – an irony that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photo: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the detectives struggled to keep a straight face.”
The Outcome
A little more than a month later, every charge were dropped.
