What Happened Next: The Evening The Activist Group Projected Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle

When the announcement was made 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 felt compelled to ensure it did not go unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their next creative protest proceeded with precision.

A Provocative Film

Activists created a short documentary detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious sex offender. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files related to the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)

The Setup

The group had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, atop a garbage can outside.

International press had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, spread rapidly globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary gives people something tangible to share, implying: ‘There’s something significant to examine here.’ It was 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 a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they raced into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

This was not their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort targeting Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider over the hotel where the then-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 activists were not overly concerned about arrest. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” Officers was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this really calm.’”

Stalling a large number of police officers is a long time. It helped that officers 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, before another asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other team members were then arrested for malicious communication, a stalking law. “The law is precise: it’s designed to address 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. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.

An Ironic Interrogation

Some time in the middle of the night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, now for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection squad – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: a picture of a giant projector, secured to several drawers. Then, the detectives struggled to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

A little more than one month later, all charges were dropped.