What Happened Next: The Night The Activist Group Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their next art-activist event proceeded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a short documentary detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous sex offender. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents related to the criminal probe into Epstein … And now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted all allegations concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a public rubbish bin outside.
International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, spread rapidly everywhere. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made provides viewers a social object to share, saying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed by millions.”
The Reveal
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. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock goes through the officers around me, and the police all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the resort where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, officers warned him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.
Confrontation with Police
However, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police arrive, the message is already out.” Officers was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and caps. They had located the culprits. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no guns. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that they were unsure which law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a really concerning 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, shortly thereafter was on a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Later in the middle of the night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available were from the child protection squad – a twist which was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photograph: “They asked, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else 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 maintain their composure.”
The Outcome
Just over one month later, every charge were dropped.
