What Happened Next: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle

When the announcement was made for the former president's upcoming official trip, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as particularly craven. Their next art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.

A Deliberate Message

The group produced a nine-minute film detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious sex offender. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files related to the investigation into Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations in relation to 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 powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.

The world’s media was assembled, staring at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, gained traction globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘This is something really serious to look at here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”

The Reveal

It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building requires some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police all pile into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first effort against Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, officers warned him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.

Confrontation with Police

However, the activists were not especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” Officers was swift, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and caps. They’d finally found the culprits. 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 when they entered the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”

Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that officers were unsure 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, before another asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with a really concerning offence. To throw it at 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 says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, shortly thereafter boarded a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.

An Ironic Interrogation

Later that night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, now for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists responded to every question with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: a picture of a large projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to maintain their composure.”

The Outcome

A little more than a month later, every charge were dropped.