The police crackdown over a video of United States President Donald Trump and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein projected onto Windsor Castle has been dubbed a “ridiculous overreaction”.
Thames Valley Police said four men were arrested on suspicion of malicious communications following the stunt.
One is a 60-year-old from East Sussex and one is a 37-year-old from Kent.
The other two men, both from London, are aged 36 and 50.
The film, created by political campaign group Led By Donkeys, lasted nine minutes and was projected from a hotel room with a direct view to the castle.
It covered the history of Mr Trump’s links to Epstein, including the recent release by US authorities of a raft of documents alleged to include a letter from the president to Epstein to celebrate his 50th birthday.
It was an act of “peaceful protest”, a spokesperson said.
“My colleagues were arrested for malicious communications, which seems ridiculous, because we’ve done 25 or 30 projections before, no one’s ever been arrested.
“In fact, sometimes the police have just watched while we’ve done it.
“So suddenly, because it’s Trump, you get this reaction, which is surprising, disappointing and very heavy-handed from police.
“I think they’ve been arrested for embarrassing Donald Trump. It’s because Donald Trump’s got a very thin skin. They’re protecting his ego.”
The King is hosting the US president and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, at Windsor Castle until 19 September.
A 24-hours-a-day policing operation is in place in the Berkshire town during the event, with a temporary order restricting the airspace until 18 September.
But the campaign group argued they planned the stunt over weeks and took steps to avoid alarming police officers on the streets of Windsor.
“We deliberately did it just before he arrived, so that the police wouldn’t be concerned for his (Donald Trump’s) safety,” the spokesperson said.
“We’ve had legal advice before. There’s nothing illegal about this.
“No laws are broken, nobody’s hurt, no property was damaged, and yet – look at the reaction.
“So it’s just a ridiculous overreaction.”
The spokesperson said the planning began when the dates for the state visit were announced in July.
Campaigners brought their projector to the hotel room inside luxury luggage and set it up over Monday and Tuesday, the spokesperson said.
They then opened the windows and first projected an image of the royal crest onto Windsor Castle to map out the space and ensure their images would fit before rolling out the film.
“At that point, there was a sort of electric reaction from the police,” the spokesperson said.
“They were outside the room seven minutes later, but the film was nine minutes long, so we managed to finish the film.”
The four people arrested on Tuesday remain in custody, TVP said on Wednesday.
The Led by Donkeys spokesperson said they hoped their colleagues would soon be released without charge.
“People say they want to see peaceful protests, but what can be more peaceful than legally hiring a hotel room and project images onto a wall?” the spokesperson said.
“It’s a fact-based piece of journalism that we put up on there. So how could it be malicious communications?
“The only malicious thing is Trump’s relationship with Epstein.
“Trump’s coming here for a second state visit, an unprecedented honour. And we just wanted to point at the elephant in the room, which is he had an extremely close relationship with America’s most notorious child sex trafficker.”
Chief Superintendent Felicity Parker, from Thames Valley Police, said: “We take any unauthorised activity around Windsor Castle extremely seriously.
“Our officers responded swiftly to stop the projection and four people have been arrested.
“We are conducting a thorough investigation with our partners into the circumstances surrounding this incident and will provide further updates when we are in a position to do so.”
