What Happened Next: The Evening The Activist Group Projected Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle

When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s second state visit, including a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass unprotested. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded like clockwork.

A Provocative Film

The group produced a short documentary exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious sex offender. He’s alleged to be mentioned, repeatedly, in documents from the criminal probe into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied all allegations concerning Epstein.)

The Setup

The activists had booked 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 high-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, staring at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, gained traction everywhere. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. 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 Moment of Projection

It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “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 appears. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they all pile into the hotel.”

A History of Activism

This was not their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort targeting Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider near the resort where the president was staying in Scotland. The following year, officers warned him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.

The Arrests

But, the group's creators were not overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy goes into wanting the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” Officers was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “They were in jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised upon entering 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 didn’t know which law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “one officer started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other activists were then arrested for malicious communication, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to address a serious offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, shortly thereafter boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.

A Second Arrest and Questioning

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. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – a twist that was palpable, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. The activists responded to every question with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photo: “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: a picture of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the officers were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”

The Final Result

A little more than a month later, every charge were dropped.