What Happened Next: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for the former president's second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go without a statement. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent art-activist event unfolded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a nine-minute film detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous sex offender. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in documents from the investigation into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.)
The Setup
The activists had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, on top of a garbage can outside.
International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, gained traction globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, implying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.”
The Moment of Projection
The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “First appeared this royal crest. Officers are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they raced into the hotel.”
Not Their First Protest
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action targeting Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider over the resort where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, officers warned him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee.
The Arrests
But, the group's creators were not overly concerned about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police arrive, the die is cast.” Officers was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “Wearing jumpsuits and caps. They had located some protesters. They charged up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that they were unsure which law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman started reading a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a really concerning offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, appeared contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Some time that night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, now for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – an irony which was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates responded to every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: a picture of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the detectives struggled to maintain their composure.”
The Outcome
Just over a month later, every charge was dismissed.
