🔗 Share this article What Happened Next: The Night 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 Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their next art-activist event unfolded with precision. A Provocative Film The group produced a short documentary detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents related to the investigation into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.) The Setup The activists had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, more crucially, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside. The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly globally. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘This is something really serious to examine here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.” The Reveal The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building needs some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “So there’s this royal crest. Officers likely thought: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police all pile into the hotel.” Not Their First Protest It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort against Trump. Back 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, officers warned him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee. The Arrests But, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police arrive, the message is already out.” Officers was swift, reaching the hotel within three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’” Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped 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, which another officer told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional team members were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to deal with a really concerning offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel. A Second Arrest and Questioning Later that night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, now for causing a public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates responded to every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to maintain their composure.” The Final Result Just over one month later, all charges was dismissed.
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their next art-activist event unfolded with precision. A Provocative Film The group produced a short documentary detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents related to the investigation into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.) The Setup The activists had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, more crucially, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside. The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly globally. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘This is something really serious to examine here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.” The Reveal The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building needs some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “So there’s this royal crest. Officers likely thought: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police all pile into the hotel.” Not Their First Protest It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort against Trump. Back 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, officers warned him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee. The Arrests But, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police arrive, the message is already out.” Officers was swift, reaching the hotel within three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’” Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped 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, which another officer told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional team members were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to deal with a really concerning offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel. A Second Arrest and Questioning Later that night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, now for causing a public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates responded to every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to maintain their composure.” The Final Result Just over one month later, all charges was dismissed.