The Unfolding Events: The Evening 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, including a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass without a statement. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their next art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.

A Provocative Film

The group produced a nine-minute film detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in documents from the criminal probe into that individual … And now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)

The Setup

The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast views of the castle and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, atop a public rubbish bin outside.

The world’s media had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, spread rapidly everywhere. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made provides viewers something tangible to share, saying: ‘This is something significant to look at here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed by millions.”

The Moment of Projection

It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building needs some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “First appeared this royal crest. The police are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and the police all pile into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

This was not the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action against Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the resort where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.

Confrontation with Police

But, the group's creators were not especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police arrive, the die is cast.” Officers was swift, arriving in the lobby 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; they were briefed; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this really calm.’”

Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that they were unsure under what law to make arrests. 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 as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other team members were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a stalking law. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, then soon after was on a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.

A Second Arrest and Questioning

Later in the middle of the night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, now for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – an irony that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “No comment.” A few minutes into 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 anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: a picture of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

Just over a month later, every charge were dropped.