LONDON — Though President Donald Trump did not witness them in person, activists organized a rally to protest his state visit to the United Kingdom this week.
Trump is spending Wednesday at Windsor Castle, where King Charles III rolled out the red carpet ahead of a lavish state banquet in the evening. But back in London, the U.K.-based “Stop Trump Coalition” held an event of its own in central London, protesting the rise of “fascism” across the globe in addition to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Following roughly one hour of speeches, the protesters began a march toward the Palace of Westminster, Parliament’s seat in the capital, where they will hold another rally.
A spokesperson for the Stop Trump Coalition mentioned some 50 activist groups that would participate in Wednesday’s event but did not say how many protesters themselves would attend.
“After seeing the UK’s largest far-right demo this past weekend, it is even more essential to turn out to protest against Donald Trump’s state visit,” event organizers said in a statement, citing the “Unite the Kingdom” protest organized by conservative activist Tommy Robinson over the weekend. That event drew more than 100,000 attendees, marking it as the right wing’s largest London protest in decades.
“[British Prime Minister Keir] Starmer’s response to this disgusting display was too little, too late, and now he’s welcoming Trump here to discuss nuclear and tech deals that will help the rich get richer but do nothing for everyday people,” the Stop Trump Coalition added. “We do not want our Government to trade away our democracy and decency.”
Furthermore, on Tuesday night, as Trump was touching down in London, protesters managed to project imagery of Trump, Prince Andrew, and disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto part of the Windsor Castle wall.
Trump has spent weeks seeking to downplay outrage over his administration’s handling of the Epstein files, repeatedly referring to the case as a “Democrat hoax.”
Meanwhile, Starmer sacked his former ambassador to the U.S., Lord Peter Mandelson, after it was revealed that he was among a group of close associates who had allegedly provided letters to Epstein for a book compiled in honor of his 50th birthday. Trump denies allegations that he, too, participated in that book.
Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, claimed that she had been trafficked directly to Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III. The scandal forced the royal to step down from all public duties in 2020, and his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, pulled Andrew’s military affiliations and royal charitable patronages two years later.
Local police quickly intervened in Tuesday’s incident at Windsor, arresting activists responsible for the projections and a large banner bearing the same imagery that had been placed on the green outside of the castle.
LONDONERS CHEEKILY REACT TO TRUMP’S RED CARPET WELCOME
Following his stay at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, Trump will travel to Chequers, the prime minister’s country retreat, for a slate of bilateral meetings and a joint press conference before returning to Washington, D.C., Thursday evening.
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