The Aftermath: The Evening The Activist Group Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for the former president's second state visit, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their next art-activist event proceeded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a short documentary 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 the nation's most infamous sex offender. His name is said to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents from the criminal probe into Epstein … And now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.)
The Setup
The activists had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast views of the castle and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, on top of a garbage can outside.
The world’s media was assembled, staring at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. The film, however, 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 simply makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made provides viewers a social object to share, saying: ‘There’s something significant to look at here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower needs some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “So there’s this royal crest. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider over the hotel where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, officers warned him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
However, the group's creators weren't especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” Officers was rapid, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing jumpsuits and caps. They had located the culprits. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to protect the president. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”
Delaying a large number of police officers is a long time. The fact that officers didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman began reciting 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 team members were then arrested for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Some time in the middle of the night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, now for public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting 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 knew the next move: 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
Just over a month later, every charge was dismissed.
