The Unfolding Events: The Night Led By Donkeys Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to 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 activist collective known as Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass without a statement. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their next art-activist event unfolded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a nine-minute film detailing the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be mentioned, repeatedly, in the files related to the criminal probe into that individual … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had secured 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 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, on top of a garbage can outside.
The world’s media had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly everywhere. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘This is something significant to examine here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.”
The Moment of Projection
The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building needs some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “First appeared this royal crest. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. Back 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, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
But, the group's creators weren't especially worried about detainment. “My nervous energy is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Delaying a large number of police officers is a long time. It helped that officers were unsure under what law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional team members were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a serious offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, to protect 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, shortly thereafter boarded a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Later that night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection squad – an irony which was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists responded to every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove 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 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 one month later, every charge were dropped.