The Aftermath: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s second state visit, including a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent art-activist event unfolded with precision.
A Provocative Film
Activists created a nine-minute film exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief 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 mentioned, numerous times, in the files from the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.)
The Setup
The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, atop a garbage can outside.
International press had gathered, staring at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction everywhere. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, implying: ‘There’s 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 a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the officers around me, and they all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
This was not their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
The Arrests
However, the activists weren't overly concerned about arrest. “All my anxiety goes into ensuring the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “They were in tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that they didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional team members were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is 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 against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after was on a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time that night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest involved alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: an image of a large projector, secured 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 were dropped.
