The Unfolding Events: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their subsequent art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a nine-minute film exploring the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, repeatedly, in documents from the investigation into that individual … And 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 repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to 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, said group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside.
International press had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, spread rapidly everywhere. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘There’s something significant to look at here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “First appeared this royal crest. Officers likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
This was not their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort against Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
The Arrests
However, the group's creators were not especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was swift, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing jumpsuits and caps. They had located the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that officers didn’t know under what law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “one officer started reading a clause 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 communication, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a really concerning offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, then soon after was on a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Some time in the middle of the night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection unit – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photo: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”
The Final Result
Just over a month later, every charge were dropped.
