AssetID: 55098861
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Police Block Protesters' Van From Broadcasting Trump/Epstein Image Near Windsor Castle
Caption: Activists protesting Donald Trump’s state visit to the U.K. have been blocked from broadcasting an image of the U.S. President with notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from a van near Windsor castle. Ahead of Trump’s meeting with King Charles III at Windsor Castle members of the group Everyone Hates Elon drove the vehicle around the streets of the royal borough. However, the driver said that after their van came within sight of the castle police officers stopped the van, forced them to turn off the screen broadcasting the image and then drove the vehicle away from the area. A spokesperson for Everyone Hates Elon said: “We drove for about five minutes with the big photo of Trump and Epstein on the side of the van. As soon as we got into sight of the castle, the police came straight up into the middle of the road and flagged us down, so we immediately pulled over. “Straight away the police went to the driver: 'No, you can't have this, you can't be here.' They stopped him under some law—I'm not sure exactly what law they used to stop him. “I got out of the van and carried on taking pictures and filming. They took the driver to the side, and straight away another policeman jumped in the van, kept saying 'How do you turn it off? How do you turn it off?' They wanted to turn off the massive, huge photo of Trump and Epstein as quickly as they could. As soon as they turned it off, they grabbed the van and drove it away from where we'd just been pulled over.” The spokesperson said they were shocked at the reaction of the police and level of forcefulness. “There wasn't any 'What are you doing here?' Clearly we're just showing a photo, so they thought there was no law being broken,” they added. “I was surprised at how quickly and how desperately they were to turn it off and get the van out of that spot, and how many other police came and were trying to speak to any other person with a camera, anybody else that was in the vicinity. It was very strange—an almost desperate atmosphere from the police, it seems.” However, a spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said the move was in line with security procedures and the van was not confiscated - just moved on. “Security checks are a necessary part of our response to ensure the safety of the state visit and all those in the area. "The driver was at risk of breaching the Road Traffic Regulations Act, and after a brief conversation with officers the motorist left the area. “No arrests were made and no vehicles were seized. We have been clear with the public that an enhanced police presence would be in place due to the state visit.” The incident is the latest controversial moment surrounding anti-Trump protests as on Tuesday four men were arrested after projecting the same Trump/Epstein image on to a wall of the castle. Explaining those arrests, TVP’s Chief Superintendent Felicity Parker 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." Ahead of the state visit Trump’s links to Epstein have become a point of contention in the U.S. and the U.K., with an alleged intimate birthday message from the billionaire politician to the rogue financier emerging in recent weeks. At the time of his death in 2019, Epstein was facing federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York. He pleaded guilty and was convicted by a Florida state court of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute in 2008. The lenient and unusual nature of the plea deal and Epstein’s links to powerful figures - including Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Britain’s Prince Andrew, have long provoked questions about the extent of the crimes and whether a wider scandal was covered up. Trump, Clinton and Prince Andrew have all denied any allegations of involvement or knowledge in Epstein's illegal activities. However, Britain’s ambassador to the U.K., Lord Mandelson, was removed from his post over his own links and birthday message to Epstein last week.
Keywords: Donald Trump,feature,photo,news,video,king charles,state visit,protest,jeffrey epstein
PersonInImage: The van broadcasting the image being moved on by police.