The Aftermath: The Night The Activist Group Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s second state visit, including a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their next art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a short documentary exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be referenced, numerous times, in the files related to the investigation into Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, atop a public rubbish bin outside.
The world’s media was assembled, staring at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, gained traction globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.”
The Reveal
The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building requires some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “First appeared this royal crest. Officers are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and the police all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
This was not the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider over the hotel where the 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 were not overly concerned about arrest. “All my anxiety goes into ensuring the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police arrive, the die is cast.” Officers was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and baseball caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They charged up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. The fact that they were unsure which law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer began reciting a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional team members were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, shortly thereafter boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time in the middle of the night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, now for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – an irony which was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists responded to every question with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: a picture of a large projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to maintain their composure.”
The Final Result
Just over one month later, every charge were dropped.
