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

When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go unprotested. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded with precision.

A Deliberate Message

Activists created a short documentary exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents related to the criminal probe into that individual … And now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)

The Setup

The activists had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, on top of a garbage can outside.

The world’s media was assembled, staring at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. The film, however, gained traction everywhere. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘This is something really serious to examine here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”

The Reveal

It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. The police are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they raced into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first effort against Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the hotel where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, officers warned him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee.

The Arrests

However, the group's creators weren't especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and caps. They had located the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”

Stalling a large number of police officers is a long time. The fact that officers were unsure which law to make arrests. Upon finally entering 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 communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a really concerning offence. Applying it to 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 was on a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers.

A Second Arrest and Questioning

Later that night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, now for causing a public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – a twist which was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates responded to every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “They asked, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: an image of a giant projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the detectives struggled to maintain their composure.”

The Outcome

Just over a month later, every charge were dropped.