The Unfolding Events: The Night The Activist Group Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for the former president's upcoming official trip, including a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet seemed especially servile. Their subsequent art-activist event unfolded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a nine-minute film exploring the connections with notorious figure 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 mentioned, numerous times, in documents related to the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast views of the castle and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a garbage can outside.
International press had gathered, staring at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. Their film, gained traction everywhere. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘There’s something significant 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 a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police all pile into the hotel.”
Not Their First Protest
It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first effort targeting Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider near the resort where the then-president was staying in Scotland. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
But, the activists weren't overly concerned about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” The police response was rapid, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “Wearing tactical gear and baseball caps. They had located the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, 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 is a long time. It helped that they didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other team members were then arrested for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is to address a really concerning offence. To throw it at 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. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Later in the middle of the night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, now for causing a public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection squad – a twist that was palpable, given the focus of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates responded to every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone 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 struggled to maintain their composure.”
The Final Result
Just over one month later, all charges were dropped.