The Aftermath: The Evening Led By Donkeys Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as particularly craven. Their subsequent art-activist event unfolded with precision.
A Provocative Film
The group produced a short documentary detailing the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous sex offender. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents related to the investigation into Epstein … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
The Setup
The activists had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, superior castle views, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.
The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly globally. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people something tangible 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 official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower needs some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the officers around me, and they all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; nor was it their first action against Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.
Confrontation with Police
However, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel within three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers were unsure which law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Later in the middle of the night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, now for causing a public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – a twist which was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates just answered all queries with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: an image of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the detectives struggled to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
A little more than one month later, all charges were dropped.
