• Protesters also unfold banner featuring Trump, Epstein’s photograph.
• Trump was friends with Epstein before becoming president.
• US president arrives in Britain for an unprecedented second state visit.
  

Four people were arrested on Tuesday following a projection of images of Donald Trump alongside sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto the royal Windsor Castle, where the US President is set to be hosted by King Charles during his state visit to Britain.

Trump arrived in Britain late on Tuesday for an unprecedented second state visit, and will be greeted by Charles on Wednesday for a day of pomp at Windsor Castle, about 25 miles west of London.

Earlier on Tuesday, protesters unfurled a massive banner featuring a photograph of Trump and Epstein near Windsor Castle, and later projected several images of the two onto one of the castle’s towers.

The police said in a statement four adults were arrested on suspicion of malicious communications following an “unauthorised projection” at Windsor Castle, which they described as a “public stunt”. The four remain in custody.

Democrats in the US House of Representatives on September 8 made public a birthday letter Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein more than 20 years ago, though the White House has denied its authenticity.

The letter was also projected onto the castle, along with pictures of Epstein’s victims, news clips about the case and police reports.

The release of the letter has brought renewed attention to an issue that has become a political thorn in the president’s side.

Though he has urged his supporters to move on from the topic, the appetite for details about Epstein’s crimes and who else may have known about them or been involved with him has remained high.

Trump was friends with Epstein before becoming president, but had a falling out with the former financier years before his 2019 death in prison.

The birthday letter contained text of a purported dialogue between Trump and Epstein in which Trump calls him a “pal” and says, “May every day be another wonderful secret.” The text sits within a crude sketch of the silhouette of a naked woman.

LONDON: US President Donald Trump arrived in Britain on Tuesday for an unprecedented second state visit, with the UK government rolling out a royal red carpet welcome to win over the mercurial leader.

“A lot of things here warm my heart,” the 79-year-old Republican told reporters after he arrived with First Lady Melania Trump. “It’s a very special place.”

King Charles III will host Trump at Windsor Castle for a lavish banquet and carriage ride on Wednesday, before Trump meets Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his country residence on Thursday.

In a sign of the pomp and pageantry to come, a guard of honour greeted the Trumps as they stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport near London.

Trump then expressed his admiration for the British monarch.

“He’s been a friend of mine for a long time, and everyone respects him, and they love him,” Trump said as he arrived by helicopter at Winfield House, the US ambassador’s residence in London, where he will spend the night.

“Tomorrow’s going to be a very big day.”

Trump is the first US president to be invited for two state visits, after previously being hosted by Queen Elizabeth II during his last term in office in 2019 — as Britain tries to keep the so-called special relationship alive.

The British government has been unapologetic about its efforts to get on the right side of Trump, whose mother was Scottish and who owns a number of golf courses in the UK.

Heavy security

But the British public will be kept far away from Trump, with the visit taking place entirely behind closed doors and heavy security.

A large anti-Trump demonstration has been called in London on Wednesday, while protesters projected images of Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto the towers of Windsor Castle late Tuesday.

The shadow of the Epstein scandal has hung over Trump for weeks after his administration declined to release files on the issue.

It has also embroiled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who sacked his ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson on the eve of the visit over the envoy’s emails to Epstein.

Starmer’s government is however counting on the sheer scale of the state visit to keep Trump onside, despite his unpredictability over everything from tariffs to Ukraine and Gaza.

In Windsor on Wednesday, Trump will get a ceremonial carriage ride and a flypast by both UK and US jets in what officials call the largest military show for a state visit in living memory.

In the evening King Charles will host Trump for a lavish state dinner where both men will give speeches.

Trump may also relish the royal part of the visit as a chance to escape a turbulent period at home, where the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has caused turmoil.

‘New heights’

Politics will take over again on Thursday when Starmer hosts Trump at his country residence Chequers for talks focusing on trade and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

The visit has been timed to line up with announcements of several investments in Britain — the latest being a pledge by Microsoft to spend $30 billion over four years.

Starmer needs the visit to go well after a miserable few days in which some in his Labour party have openly questioned whether he can remain as leader over the Mandelson resignation.

Downing Street has said Trump’s visit would see the “unbreakable friendship” between the countries “reach new heights”.

The visit is “a huge moment for both” men, said Evie Aspinall, director of the British Foreign Policy Group think-tank.

“For Trump, the state visit is an opportunity to revel in the pomp and ceremony he loves,” she told AFP.

“For Starmer, the visit is a chance to distract from domestic discontent and shift the limelight onto international issues where he has had greater success.”

The suspect in the murder of prominent US conservative political activist Charlie Kirk has been formally charged with his murder, prosecutors in Utah announced Tuesday.

Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead last week during a speaking event on a Utah university campus. He was the founder of the influential conservative youth political group Turning Point USA.

Authorities said 22-year-old Tyler Robinson used a rifle to shoot Kirk with a single bullet to the neck from a rooftop. He was arrested after a 33-hour manhunt.

“After reviewing the evidence that law enforcement has collected thus far, I am… charging Tyler James Robinson, age 22, with the following crimes,” Utah County attorney Jeff Gray told a press conference.

“Count one, aggravated murder, a capital offense, for intentionally or knowingly causing the death of Charlie Kirk under circumstances that created a great risk of death to others.”

Six other charges include obstruction of justice and witness tampering, allegedly for ordering his roommate to stay silent.

“I am filing a notice of intent to seek the death penalty,” Gray added.

“I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.”

Gray cited lengthy text message exchanges between Robinson and his roommate, whom he described as “a biological male who was transitioning genders.”

Robinson and the roommate were in a romantic relationship, Gray said.

 Gray cited the messages as saying. “‘Some hate can’t be negotiated out.'”

Robinson, who is being held without bail, was expected to make an initial court appearance later Tuesday.

Gray explained that, in line with county practice, this appearance would be by video link.

Kirk, a father of two, used his audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for conservative talking points, including strong criticism of the transgender rights movement.

A polarising figure, he often posted edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.

FBI Director Kash Patel has been heavily criticised for his actions in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, including having quickly announced the arrest of a separate suspect, only to confirm they had been released two hours later.

Patel faced a grilling from a Senate panel on Tuesday, which included some heated exchanges with Democratic Senator Corey Booker.

Patel has come under fire from both the right and the left since being named by Trump to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.

On Monday, the White House said it would be pursuing an alleged left-wing “domestic terror movement” in the wake of Kirk’s killing, prompting alarm that such a campaign could be used to silence political dissent.