The Aftermath: The Night The Activist Group Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle

When plans were revealed for the former president's second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as particularly craven. Their next creative protest unfolded with precision.

A Deliberate Message

Activists created a nine-minute film detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents from the investigation into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)

Preparations and Execution

The group had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, atop a public rubbish bin outside.

International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. The film, however, spread rapidly everywhere. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure 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 an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”

The Reveal

The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. Officers likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they raced into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

This was not their inaugural action; nor was it their first action targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider over the hotel where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.

Confrontation with Police

However, the activists weren't overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into ensuring the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” Officers was swift, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”

Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. The fact that they didn’t know which law to charge anyone. 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 because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional activists were then arrested for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter boarded a train out of 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 arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available were from the child protection unit – a twist that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates responded to every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.”

The Final Result

A little more than a month later, all charges were dropped.