The Unfolding Events: The Evening 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 September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go unprotested. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent creative protest proceeded with precision.
A Provocative Film
Activists created a nine-minute film detailing the connections 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 sex offender. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in the files related to the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted all allegations concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.
The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, gained traction globally. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something significant to look at here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla 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 some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock goes through the officers nearby, and they raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action targeting Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.
The Arrests
However, the activists weren't especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. 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 for six minutes. It helped that officers didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer started reading a section 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 communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed 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, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time in the middle of the night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available were from the child protection unit – an irony which was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists responded to every question with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone 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. Then, the detectives struggled to keep a straight face.”
The Outcome
Just over a month later, every charge was dismissed.
