What Happened Next: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as particularly craven. Their next creative protest unfolded like clockwork.
A Provocative Film
Activists created a short documentary detailing 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 referenced, numerous times, in the files from the investigation into that individual … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a garbage can outside.
International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction globally. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something really serious to examine here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”
The Reveal
The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock goes through the officers nearby, and the police all pile into the hotel.”
Not Their First Protest
This was not their inaugural action; nor was it their first action targeting Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider near the resort where the president was staying in Scotland. The following year, officers warned him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
But, the activists were not especially worried about detainment. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that they didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer 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 team members were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to deal with a really concerning offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Later that night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – a twist that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists just answered every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove 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 what was coming: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the officers were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
Just over a month later, every charge was dismissed.
