🔗 Share this article What Happened Next: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed 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 protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The act of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as particularly craven. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded with precision. A Provocative Film Activists created a short documentary detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier 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 child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files related to the criminal probe into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.) The Setup The activists had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned 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, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, gained traction globally. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers something tangible to share, saying: ‘This is something significant to examine here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.” The Reveal The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police all pile into the hotel.” A History of Activism This was not the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action against Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the resort where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee. The Arrests However, the activists were not overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’” Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers didn’t know under what law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman began reciting a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with 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 melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers. A Second Arrest and Questioning Some time in the middle of the night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, now for causing a public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – an irony which was palpable, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: a picture of a large projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.” The Final Result Just over a month later, every charge were dropped.
When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s second state visit, including a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The act of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as particularly craven. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded with precision. A Provocative Film Activists created a short documentary detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier 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 child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files related to the criminal probe into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.) The Setup The activists had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned 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, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, gained traction globally. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers something tangible to share, saying: ‘This is something significant to examine here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.” The Reveal The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police all pile into the hotel.” A History of Activism This was not the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action against Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the resort where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee. The Arrests However, the activists were not overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’” Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers didn’t know under what law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman began reciting a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with 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 melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers. A Second Arrest and Questioning Some time in the middle of the night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, now for causing a public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – an irony which was palpable, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: a picture of a large projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.” The Final Result Just over a month later, every charge were dropped.