What Happened Next: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to 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 known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass without a statement. The act of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded with precision.
A Provocative Film
The group produced a short documentary detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “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. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents from the investigation into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied all allegations concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, 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. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made provides viewers a social object to share, saying: ‘There’s something really serious to examine here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”
The Reveal
It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “So there’s this royal crest. The police are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and the police all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; nor was it their first effort targeting Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider near the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. A year later, officers warned him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
The Arrests
However, the group's creators were not overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “They were in jumpsuits and caps. They had located the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that they didn’t know under what law to make arrests. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a serious offence. To throw it at a piece of journalism, displayed on a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, shortly thereafter was on a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Some time that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection squad – a twist which was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists just answered every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: an image of a large projector, secured to four drawers. Then, the officers were finding it hard to maintain their composure.”
The Final Result
A little more than one month later, all charges was dismissed.
