President Trump’s official visit to Britain was thrown into chaos when a protest group rolled out an advertising van featuring images of him with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The stunt took place in Windsor on Wednesday morning as Trump prepared to meet the royal family at Windsor Castle.
The vehicle, equipped with large digital billboards on both sides, was organized by the campaign group Everyone Hates Elon. The protest group said their aim was to disrupt Trump’s carefully managed arrival by reminding the public of his long-reported ties to Epstein. According to witnesses, the van was quickly intercepted by local police, who removed it from the scene.
A witness told The Daily Beast that officers reacted almost immediately as the vehicle neared the castle grounds. “They marched right into the road and ordered the driver to stop,” the witness said. “One officer pulled the driver out while another climbed inside the van, demanding to know how to switch the screens off. The second they shut the images down, the police drove the van away.”
The picture displayed on the moving billboard was taken at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in 1997, showing him alongside Epstein. The same image had already appeared on Windsor Castle the night before in a separate protest. That projection led to the arrest of four activists.
Everyone Hates Elon later confirmed that journalists covering the protest were briefly detained and questioned by authorities. The group accused the police of acting more as political enforcers than as neutral law officers.
In a statement, the group said their campaign was about pushing back against what they see as America’s toxic influence in British politics. “We are fed up with the way the United States imposes itself on the U.K. Whether it is billionaires like Elon Musk or wealthy backers like Donald Trump, the effect is the same,” the spokesperson explained. “Trump is arriving with American tech billionaires, while Musk just appeared at a far-right rally in London. The timing could not be clearer.”
Over the weekend, Musk appeared via video link at an event hosted by notorious activist Tommy Robinson. His remarks to the crowd alarmed many in government. At one point, Musk declared, “Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die.” Britain’s Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, condemned his words, calling them “abhorrent.”
Trump’s visit also drew attention from another activist group, Led by Donkeys. On Tuesday evening, they projected a short film onto the walls of Windsor Castle. The film highlighted Trump’s relationship with Epstein and included interviews, still images of Trump smiling alongside Epstein and Prince Andrew, and even a letter allegedly written by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday. You can watch the full projection here. Trump and the White House have denied the letter is genuine, but you can read more about it here.
According to Led by Donkeys, the projection required months of planning. Activists booked a hotel room directly opposite the castle and smuggled in a 25,000-lumen projector inside a suitcase. Once night fell, they cast the images across the ancient walls of the royal residence.
Not to be outdone, Everyone Hates Elon escalated their own actions the following day. They unveiled a 4,300-square-foot banner in Windsor featuring the same photo of Trump and Epstein. Their stated goal was simple: to ruin the optics of Trump’s U.K. visit. The group even went further, constructing a fake memorial to Epstein at Trump’s Aberdeen golf course. “We are making sure Epstein follows him everywhere he goes,” they declared.
Trump arrived in the United Kingdom on Tuesday evening before his scheduled meeting with the royal family on Wednesday morning. The confrontation between protesters and police ensured that his visit began under a cloud of controversy.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Thames Valley Police had not issued a comment on the claims made by either protest group.
