The Aftermath: The Evening Led By Donkeys Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their next art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a short documentary exploring the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States was a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous sex offender. He’s alleged to be mentioned, repeatedly, in the files from the investigation into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The activists had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, on top of a garbage can outside.
The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, spread rapidly everywhere. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made provides viewers something tangible to share, saying: ‘There’s something really serious to examine here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower needs some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. The police are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock goes through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first effort against Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the resort where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, officers warned him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.
The Arrests
However, the activists weren't overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once 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 jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Stalling a large number of police officers is a long time. It helped that they were unsure under what law to make arrests. Upon finally entering 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 other team members were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “The law is precise: its purpose is to address a really concerning offence. To throw it at a piece of journalism, displayed on 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 melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates just answered all queries with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: an image of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. Then, the officers were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
A little more than a month later, all charges was dismissed.
