🔗 Share this article What Happened Next: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s second state visit, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded like clockwork. A Deliberate Message The group produced a short documentary detailing the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious sex offender. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in documents related to the investigation into Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.) Preparations and Execution The group had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside. The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, gained traction everywhere. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, implying: ‘There’s something significant to look at here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.” The Reveal It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s this royal crest. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock goes through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they raced into the hotel.” A History of Activism It wasn't their inaugural action; nor was it their first effort against Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the resort where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee. Confrontation with Police However, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and baseball caps. They had located the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to protect the president. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’” Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers didn’t know which law to make arrests. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional activists were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a stalking law. “The law is precise: its purpose is to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of 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, shortly thereafter boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel. An Ironic Interrogation Later that 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 sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered all queries with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: a picture of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the officers were finding it hard to maintain their composure.” The Final Result A little more than one month later, every charge was dismissed.
When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s second state visit, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded like clockwork. A Deliberate Message The group produced a short documentary detailing the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious sex offender. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in documents related to the investigation into Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.) Preparations and Execution The group had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside. The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, gained traction everywhere. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, implying: ‘There’s something significant to look at here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.” The Reveal It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s this royal crest. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock goes through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they raced into the hotel.” A History of Activism It wasn't their inaugural action; nor was it their first effort against Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the resort where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee. Confrontation with Police However, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and baseball caps. They had located the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to protect the president. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’” Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers didn’t know which law to make arrests. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional activists were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a stalking law. “The law is precise: its purpose is to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of 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, shortly thereafter boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel. An Ironic Interrogation Later that 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 sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered all queries with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: a picture of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the officers were finding it hard to maintain their composure.” The Final Result A little more than one month later, every charge was dismissed.