The Aftermath: 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 September 17th, 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their next art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a short documentary exploring the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be mentioned, numerous times, 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 maintains he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)
The Setup
The activists had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast views of the castle and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, said group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.
International press was assembled, staring at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘This is something really serious to look at here.’ We took an act of activist 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 requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. Officers are thinking: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt passed through the officers around me, and they all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort targeting Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider over the resort where the president was staying in Scotland. The following year, officers warned him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
The Arrests
But, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “They were in jumpsuits and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to protect the president. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this really calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that officers didn’t know under what law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other team members were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a stalking law. “The law is precise: it’s designed to address 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, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Later 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 causing a public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. During interrogation, 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 Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take 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: an image of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. At that point, the detectives struggled to maintain their composure.”
The Outcome
Just over one month later, every charge was dismissed.
