🔗 Share this article What Happened Next: The Night The Activist Group Projected Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent art-activist event unfolded with precision. A Deliberate Message Activists created a nine-minute film detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure 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 mentioned, repeatedly, in documents related to the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.) The Setup The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, superior castle views, said 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 had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored 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 convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘There’s something really serious to examine here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.” The Reveal The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they raced into the hotel.” Not Their First Protest It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action against Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider near the resort where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, officers warned him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured. The Arrests But, the activists were not especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing jumpsuits and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’” Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. The fact that officers didn’t know under what law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional team members were then arrested for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with a really concerning offence. To throw it at a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, then soon after was on a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel. A Second Arrest and Questioning Later that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection squad – an irony which was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists just answered every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “They asked, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: a picture of a large projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to maintain their composure.” The Final Result A little more than one month later, every charge were dropped.
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent art-activist event unfolded with precision. A Deliberate Message Activists created a nine-minute film detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure 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 mentioned, repeatedly, in documents related to the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.) The Setup The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, superior castle views, said 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 had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored 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 convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘There’s something really serious to examine here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.” The Reveal The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they raced into the hotel.” Not Their First Protest It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action against Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider near the resort where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, officers warned him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured. The Arrests But, the activists were not especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing jumpsuits and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’” Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. The fact that officers didn’t know under what law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional team members were then arrested for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with a really concerning offence. To throw it at a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, then soon after was on a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel. A Second Arrest and Questioning Later that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection squad – an irony which was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists just answered every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “They asked, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: a picture of a large projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to maintain their composure.” The Final Result A little more than one month later, every charge were dropped.