What Happened Next: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their next art-activist event proceeded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a nine-minute film exploring the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief 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 referenced, numerous times, in documents from the investigation into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
The Setup
The group had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, atop a public rubbish bin outside.
International press had gathered, staring at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, spread rapidly 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 just makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, implying: ‘This is something really serious to examine here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Reveal
The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “First appeared this royal crest. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the officers around me, and they all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action targeting Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider over the hotel where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, officers warned him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.
The Arrests
However, the group's creators weren't especially worried about detainment. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that they didn’t know under what law to make arrests. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer started reading a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional activists were subsequently detained 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, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, then soon after was on a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Later that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, now for causing a public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection unit – a twist which was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photograph: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
Just over one month later, all charges was dismissed.
