The Unfolding Events: The Night The Activist Group Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle

When the announcement was made for the former president's upcoming official trip, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their next art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.

A Provocative Film

The group produced a short documentary detailing the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous sex offender. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents related to the criminal probe into that individual … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)

The Setup

The group had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside.

The world’s media had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. The film, however, spread rapidly everywhere. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. The film we made provides viewers something tangible to share, implying: ‘This is something significant to examine here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”

The Moment of Projection

The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “First appeared 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 appears. This electric jolt goes 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 action targeting Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the resort where the then-president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.

The Arrests

But, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked 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 a large number of police officers is a long time. It helped that they were unsure under what law to make arrests. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “The law is precise: it’s designed to address a really concerning offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, appeared contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, then soon after was on a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.

An Ironic Interrogation

Later that night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, now for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – an irony that was palpable, given the focus of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered all queries with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four 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.