The Aftermath: The Evening Led By Donkeys Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s second state visit, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as particularly craven. Their next creative protest unfolded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a short documentary detailing 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 child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, repeatedly, in documents related to the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations concerning Epstein.)
The Setup
The activists had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast views of the castle and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside.
International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly globally. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary provides viewers a social object 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 by millions.”
The Reveal
The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the officers around me, and the police raced into the hotel.”
Not Their First Protest
This was not the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first effort against 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. A year later, officers warned him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.
Confrontation with Police
However, the activists were not overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They had located some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that officers were unsure which law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other activists were then arrested for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers.
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 a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – a twist 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, police presented a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove 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 anticipated what was coming: a picture of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. Then, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Outcome
Just over one month later, all charges was dismissed.