What Happened Next: The Night Led By Donkeys Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for the former president'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 unprotested. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their next creative protest unfolded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a nine-minute film exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious sex offender. He’s alleged to be referenced, numerous times, in documents from the investigation into Epstein … And now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning 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, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a public rubbish bin outside.
International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘This is something really serious to examine here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed by millions.”
The Moment of Projection
It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; nor was it their first effort targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider near the resort where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.
Confrontation with Police
However, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was rapid, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no guns. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Delaying a large number of police officers is a long time. It helped that they were unsure which law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman started reading a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to address a really concerning offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time in the middle of the night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, this time for causing a public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. During interrogation, 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. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, 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 giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the detectives struggled to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
Just over one month later, all charges were dropped.
