What Happened Next: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their next art-activist event proceeded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a nine-minute film detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in documents from the investigation into that individual … Now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, atop a public rubbish bin outside.
The world’s media had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, gained traction globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary provides viewers something tangible to share, implying: ‘This is something really serious to look at here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Reveal
The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower needs some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first effort against Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider over the resort where the then-president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
The Arrests
However, the activists were not especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” 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 some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Delaying a large number of police officers is a long time. The fact that officers were unsure under what law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other activists were then arrested for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: 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, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, shortly thereafter boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time in the middle of the night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection squad – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates 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.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: a picture of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Outcome
Just over a month later, every charge was dismissed.
