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‘Twinned with Epstein Island' sign appears on Trump's Scottish golf course

‘Twinned with Epstein Island' sign appears on Trump's Scottish golf course

Telegraph5 days ago
Protesters sabotaged Donald Trump's golf course in Aberdeenshire with a placard that claimed the luxury resort was 'twinned with Epstein Island'.
The stunt was staged by the political campaign group Everyone Hates Elon as the US president faces renewed scrutiny over his past links to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and sex offender who died in 2024.
The Trump administration has requested that grand jury records related to the 2019 indictment of Epstein be released.
Mr Trump has strongly denied allegations in an article published by The Wall Street Journal on July 17 that alleged he had written a 'bawdy' birthday note to Epstein in 2003.
The message was said to have included a drawing of a naked woman, followed by a note that read: 'Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.'
Mr Trump has taken legal action against the publication.
In a video posted on Instagram on Monday, Everyone Hates Elon showed an unknown figure placing the placard at the Balmedie course.
The group also claimed responsibility for placing an image of Mr Trump alongside one of Epstein at a bus stop in Nine Elms, London, near the US Embassy last week.
It posted a video of the image being installed, saying: 'It would be such a shame for Donald if this photo of Trump with Jeffrey Epstein appeared absolutely everywhere on his tour of the UK. It would truly be such a huge shame if everyone donated to make that happen.'
The US president is due to arrive in Scotland later this week and visit both his golf courses in the country – Turnberry in Ayrshire and Balmedie – but concerns have been raised about the policing operation required.
The last time Mr Trump visited Scotland – while he was no longer in office – substantial protests sprang up.
Police Scotland expects similar protests in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Ayrshire.
Mr Trump is expected to meet both Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, and John Swinney, Scotland's First Minister, during his time in Scotland.
All of Police Scotland's liaison officers are expected to be required to handle protests during the visit and mutual aid has been requested from other forces to help, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Mr Swinney said talks were still ongoing about how costs would be handled for the visit, but said that Scotland's police force would not suffer as a result.
The First Minister's comments came as a senior police officer urged people planning to protest against Mr Trump's visit to follow the law.
Asst Chief Constable Emma Bond encouraged protest groups to discuss their plans with police ahead of the visit.
She said: 'As you can imagine, it is a large-scale, complex operation, but actually that's something that Police Scotland is immensely experienced at doing.'
The policing plan involves local, national and specialist officers from Police Scotland as well as other forces.
She said: 'The key very much is to make sure the President of the United States can come, enjoy a peaceful and safe visit to Scotland and ensure Police Scotland is able to maintain delivery of services to the rest of the community within Scotland over the period of his visit.'
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