The Unfolding Events: 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, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor 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 was viewed as especially servile. Their next art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a nine-minute film exploring the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous sex offender. He’s alleged to be mentioned, repeatedly, in the files related to the criminal probe into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, on top of a garbage can outside.
The world’s media was assembled, staring at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, spread rapidly globally. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. The film we made provides viewers a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt goes through the officers nearby, and they raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action against Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the hotel where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
However, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy is channelled into ensuring the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” Officers was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “They were in tactical gear and caps. They had located some protesters. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers for six minutes. The fact that they were unsure under what law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional team members were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to address a serious offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, displayed on a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, appeared contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter boarded a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Later 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 causing a public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. The activists responded to all queries with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: a picture of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. Then, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Outcome
Just over one month later, every charge was dismissed.
