What Happened Next: The Night The Activist Group Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle

When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the activist collective known as 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 like clockwork.

A Provocative Film

The group produced a nine-minute film detailing the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in the files from the investigation into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)

The Setup

The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.

International press was assembled, staring at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction everywhere. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers a social object to share, saying: ‘This is something really serious to look at here.’ It was an act of activist 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 states. “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 materializes. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and the police all pile into the hotel.”

A History of Activism

It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action targeting Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider near the resort where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, police visited him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.

The Arrests

However, the activists weren't overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and baseball caps. They had located the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to protect the president. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’”

Stalling multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that officers didn’t know under what law to make arrests. When they finally entered 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 activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is to deal with a serious offence. To throw it at an act 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 melted into the crowd, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.

An Ironic Interrogation

Later in the middle of the night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, now for causing a public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates responded to every question with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you take 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 knew what was coming: an image of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the detectives struggled to maintain their composure.”

The Outcome

Just over a month later, every charge were dropped.