The Unfolding Events: The Night Led By Donkeys Projected Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for the former president's second state visit, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass without a statement. The act of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as particularly craven. Their next art-activist event unfolded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a nine-minute film exploring the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States was a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in the files related to the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that president, 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 has consistently denied all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
The Setup
The activists had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.
The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. The film, however, gained traction everywhere. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something significant to examine 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 official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower needs some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “First appeared this royal crest. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the officers around me, and they raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; nor was it their first action against Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider over the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.
The Arrests
However, the activists were not overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no firearms. 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. The fact that officers were unsure under what law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional team members were then arrested for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to address a really concerning offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, appeared contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
An Ironic Interrogation
Later that night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, now for public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. The activists responded to all queries with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Outcome
Just over a month later, every charge were dropped.
