The Aftermath: The Night Led By Donkeys Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for the former president's second state visit, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their next art-activist event proceeded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a nine-minute film detailing Donald Trump’s relationship 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 America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents from the criminal probe into Epstein … And now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.)
The Setup
The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside.
The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction globally. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘There’s something significant to look at here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”
The Reveal
It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock goes through the officers nearby, and the police all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort targeting Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
But, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy goes into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” Officers was swift, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers is a long time. The fact that officers were unsure which law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other team members were then arrested for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to deal with a serious offence. To throw it at 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, then soon after was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time in the middle of the night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, now for public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – a twist that was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists just answered all queries with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: a picture of a large projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Outcome
A little more than one month later, all charges were dropped.
