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, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their next creative protest unfolded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a short documentary detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files related to the investigation into that individual … And now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.
International press had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, spread rapidly everywhere. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. The film we made provides viewers a social object to share, implying: ‘This is something significant to examine here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
This was not their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the resort where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.
Confrontation with Police
But, the activists weren't overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel in under 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; prepared; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers is a long time. The fact that they didn’t know under what law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other team members were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to address a really concerning offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Later in the middle of the night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, now for causing a public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection unit – a twist which was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists responded to every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: a picture of a large projector, secured to four drawers. Then, the detectives were finding it hard to maintain their composure.”
The Final Result
A little more than one month later, every charge were dropped.
