The Aftermath: The Night Led By Donkeys Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the protest group known as 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 subsequent art-activist event proceeded like clockwork.
A Provocative Film
The group produced a short documentary detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States was a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. His name is said to be mentioned, repeatedly, in the files related to the investigation into that individual … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.
International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, gained traction globally. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made provides viewers a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something significant to examine here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”
The Reveal
The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. Officers are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and the police raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
This was not their inaugural action; nor was it their first effort targeting Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider over the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
However, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “They were in tactical gear and caps. They had located the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”
Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers didn’t know which law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “one officer started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional activists were then arrested for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a serious offence. To throw it at a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, then soon after was on a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time in the middle of the 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 squad – an irony which was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists just answered every question with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: an image of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. Then, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
Just over a month later, every charge was dismissed.
