The Aftermath: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s second state visit, including a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as particularly craven. Their next art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.
A Provocative Film
The group produced a short documentary exploring the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous sex offender. His name is said to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents related to the criminal probe into Epstein … And now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted all allegations concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The activists had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside.
The world’s media had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction globally. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers a social object to share, saying: ‘This is something really serious to examine here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.”
The Reveal
It started 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. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt goes through the officers nearby, and they all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action targeting Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, officers warned him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
But, the activists weren't overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police arrive, the message is already out.” Officers was swift, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that they didn’t know which law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other activists were then arrested for malicious communication, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a really concerning offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, shortly thereafter was on a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Some time in the middle of the night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the only officers available were from the child protection unit – a twist that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: an image of a giant projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
A little more than a month later, every charge were dropped.
