What Happened Next: The Night The Activist Group Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s second state visit, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their next art-activist event proceeded like clockwork.
A Provocative Film
Activists created a short documentary detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious sex offender. His name is said to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents 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 ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, more crucially, superior castle views, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.
International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction everywhere. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower requires some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and the police all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
This was not the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first effort against Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. The following year, police visited him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.
The Arrests
But, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about arrest. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel 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. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this really calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that they were unsure which law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “one officer started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other team members were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a serious offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Some time that night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, now for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available were from the child protection unit – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: an image of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
Just over one month later, all charges was dismissed.
