What Happened Next: The Evening The Activist Group Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle

When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 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 particularly craven. Their next creative protest proceeded with precision.

A Provocative Film

The group produced a nine-minute film exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. His name is said to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files related to the investigation into that individual … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)

Preparations and Execution

The activists had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, superior castle views, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a garbage can outside.

The world’s media was assembled, staring at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. Their film, gained traction globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘This is something significant to look at 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 needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the officers nearby, and the police raced into the hotel.”

A History of Activism

It wasn't their inaugural action; nor was it their first action against Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. The following year, officers warned him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.

Confrontation with Police

However, the group's creators were not overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing 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 guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”

Stalling multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that officers didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman started reading a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional activists were then arrested for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “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, appeared contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, shortly thereafter was on a train out of 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 re-arrested them, now for public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. The activists just answered every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: a picture of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the officers struggled to maintain their composure.”

The Outcome

Just over one month later, every charge was dismissed.