The Aftermath: The Night Led By Donkeys Projected Images of Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle

When plans were revealed for the former president's second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass without a statement. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.

A Deliberate Message

Activists created a nine-minute film exploring the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “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 documents related to 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 years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.)

Preparations and Execution

The group had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast views of the castle and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, atop a garbage can outside.

The world’s media had gathered, staring at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. Their film, gained traction everywhere. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made provides viewers a social object to share, saying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.”

The Reveal

The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower needs some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. Officers are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they all pile into the hotel.”

A History of Activism

This was not their inaugural action; nor was it their first effort targeting Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider over 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.

The Arrests

However, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” Officers was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “They were in tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found 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 really calm.’”

Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that they didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” 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 deal with a really concerning offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, 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 were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, now for causing a public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection squad – a twist which was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists responded to all queries with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: an image of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to maintain their composure.”

The Outcome

Just over a month later, every charge were dropped.