The Unfolding Events: The Evening Led By Donkeys Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for the former president's second state visit, including a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a short documentary exploring Donald Trump’s relationship 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 sex offender. His name is said to be referenced, repeatedly, in the files from the criminal probe into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to 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, which boast “castle view” and, more crucially, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, atop a garbage can outside.
The world’s media was assembled, staring at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly globally. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary provides viewers a social object to share, implying: ‘This is something really serious to examine here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – 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 the police all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
The Arrests
But, the group's creators were not especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing tactical gear and 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 when they entered the room. I told them: ‘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 make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman started reading a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional activists were then arrested for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is to address a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, then soon after was on a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers.
An Ironic Interrogation
Later in the middle of the night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, now for public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. During interrogation, the only officers available were from the child protection unit – an irony which was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest involved alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates just answered all queries with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “They asked, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: a picture of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. Then, the officers were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Outcome
Just over one month later, every charge was dismissed.
