The Aftermath: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to 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 not to let it pass unprotested. The act of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded with precision.

A Deliberate Message

The group produced a short documentary detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States was a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents from the criminal probe into that individual … Now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied all allegations in relation to Epstein.)

The Setup

The activists had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, more crucially, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, on top of a garbage can outside.

The world’s media had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, gained traction everywhere. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made provides viewers something tangible to share, implying: ‘This is something really serious to examine here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”

The Reveal

The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and the police all pile into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

This was not the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first effort against Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider over the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee.

Confrontation with Police

However, the group's creators weren't especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy 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.” Officers was swift, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They charged up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”

Stalling multiple police officers is a long time. The fact that they were unsure which law to charge anyone. When they finally entered 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 activists were then arrested for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address 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, then soon after was on a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.

An Ironic Interrogation

Later that night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, now for public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the only officers available were from the child protection squad – a twist that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists responded to every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: a picture of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

A little more than a month later, every charge were dropped.