What Happened Next: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s second state visit, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass without a statement. The act of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as particularly craven. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded like clockwork.
A Provocative Film
The group produced a short documentary exploring the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious sex offender. His name is said to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files from the investigation into that individual … And now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)
The Setup
The group had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, 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, on top of a garbage can outside.
International press had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, spread rapidly everywhere. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made provides viewers a social object to share, saying: ‘There’s something significant to examine here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Reveal
It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they all pile into the hotel.”
Not Their First Protest
It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider over the resort where the then-president was staying in Scotland. The following year, police visited him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee.
The Arrests
However, the group's creators weren't especially worried about detainment. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to protect the president. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that they were unsure which law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer started reading a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other team members were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a really concerning offence. To throw it at a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
An Ironic Interrogation
Later in the middle of the night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – a twist that was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists just answered 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 anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to maintain their composure.”
The Outcome
Just over one month later, all charges were dropped.
