The Aftermath: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle

When the announcement was made for the former president's upcoming official trip, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their next art-activist event unfolded with precision.

A Deliberate Message

Activists created a nine-minute film exploring 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, numerous times, in the files related to the criminal probe into that individual … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)

Preparations and Execution

The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, said group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, atop a garbage can outside.

International press had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly globally. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary gives people something tangible to share, implying: ‘There’s something really serious to examine here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”

The Moment of Projection

The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they all pile into the hotel.”

A History of Activism

This was not the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first effort targeting Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider over the hotel where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.

The Arrests

However, the group's creators were not overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” Officers was swift, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They charged up the stairs; prepared; tasked to protect the president. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this really calm.’”

Stalling multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that they didn’t know which law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to an act 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 out of Windsor, calling lawyers.

A Second Arrest and Questioning

Later that night, while the activists 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. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – an irony that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists just answered all queries with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove 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 knew the next move: a picture of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. Then, the officers were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

Just over a month later, all charges was dismissed.