What Happened Next: The Night The Activist Group Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle

When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass without a statement. The act of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded with precision.

A Deliberate Message

The group produced a short documentary detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, repeatedly, in documents from the investigation into Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.)

The Setup

The group had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, atop a garbage can outside.

The world’s media had gathered, staring at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly everywhere. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers something tangible to share, implying: ‘This is something really serious to examine here.’ We took 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 a cylindrical building needs some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. Officers are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the officers around me, and they all pile into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider over the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.

Confrontation with Police

However, the group's creators weren't especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety goes into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police arrive, the message is already out.” Officers was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “They were in jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”

Delaying multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that they were unsure 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 told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional team members were then arrested for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to deal with a serious offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, appeared 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 out of Windsor, calling lawyers.

A Second Arrest and Questioning

Later that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection unit – an irony which was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. The activists just answered all queries with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photo: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: a picture of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the officers were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”

The Final Result

A little more than one month later, all charges was dismissed.