The Aftermath: 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 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go unprotested. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their next art-activist event proceeded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a short documentary detailing the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous sex offender. His name is said to be referenced, repeatedly, in the files from the criminal probe into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations concerning Epstein.)
The Setup
The activists had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside.
International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, gained traction everywhere. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made provides viewers 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 official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower requires some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “First appeared this royal crest. Officers likely thought: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. The following year, officers warned him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.
The Arrests
However, the activists weren't overly concerned about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to protect the president. Thankfully, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a stalking law. “The law is precise: its purpose is to address a really concerning offence. To throw it at a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time that night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, this time for causing a public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – an irony that was palpable, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. The activists responded to every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented 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 cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the officers were finding it hard to maintain their composure.”
The Final Result
Just over a month later, all charges was dismissed.
