The Unfolding Events: The Night The Activist Group Projected Images of Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for the former president's second state visit, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their next creative protest proceeded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a nine-minute film exploring the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in the files from the investigation into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The activists had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast views of the castle and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.
The world’s media had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. Their film, gained traction globally. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers a social object to share, implying: ‘This is something really serious to examine here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the officers nearby, and the police raced 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, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the resort where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee.
The Arrests
But, the activists weren't overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no guns. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that officers were unsure under what law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with a really concerning offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter boarded a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time in the middle of the night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, 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 unit – a twist that was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists responded to every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photo: “They asked, 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 the next move: an image of a giant projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Outcome
Just over a month later, every charge were dropped.
