The Aftermath: The Evening Led By Donkeys Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle

When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the protest group 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 subsequent creative protest proceeded with precision.

A Provocative Film

The group produced a nine-minute film exploring the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents related to the investigation into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)

The Setup

The activists had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.

International press was assembled, staring at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. Their film, 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 just makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary gives people something tangible to share, implying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”

The Reveal

It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police all pile 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, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.

The Arrests

However, the activists weren't overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing jumpsuits and caps. They had located some protesters. 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 told them: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”

Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that they were unsure which 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 asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to deal with a really concerning offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, appeared contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers.

A Second Arrest and Questioning

Later 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 causing a public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection unit – an irony that was palpable, given the focus of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. The activists just answered every question with: “I have 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.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: an image of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

A little more than a month later, all charges were dropped.