The Unfolding Events: The Night The Activist Group Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go unprotested. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed especially servile. Their next creative protest proceeded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a nine-minute film detailing 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 long-time close friend of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in documents from the criminal probe into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in 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.)
The Setup
The group had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast views of the castle and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a powerful projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, on top of a garbage can outside.
International press was assembled, 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’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘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 official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. The police are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt goes through the officers around me, and they raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
This was not the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near 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.
The Arrests
But, the activists were not especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and baseball caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that officers didn’t know which law to charge anyone. 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 other activists were then arrested for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to deal with a really concerning 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 remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
An Ironic Interrogation
Later that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, this time for causing a public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, 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 involved Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: an image of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the officers were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Outcome
Just over one month later, every charge was dismissed.
