The Aftermath: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass without a statement. The act of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as particularly craven. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a nine-minute film detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files from the criminal probe into that individual … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, atop a garbage can outside.
International press had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. Their film, gained traction everywhere. “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 gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something significant to examine here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed by millions.”
The Moment of Projection
The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt passed through the officers nearby, and the police all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider over the hotel where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, officers warned him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
However, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “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. Thankfully, no guns. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that officers didn’t know which law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman started reading a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to deal with a really concerning offence. To throw it at a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – an irony which was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. The activists responded to every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photograph: “They asked, did you take 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 giant projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to maintain their composure.”
The Outcome
Just over one month later, every charge were dropped.
