The Aftermath: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle

When plans were revealed for the former president's second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys was determined not to let it pass without a statement. The act of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent creative protest proceeded with precision.

A Deliberate Message

The group produced a nine-minute film detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous sex offender. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in documents from the investigation into that individual … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)

The Setup

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 a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a garbage can outside.

International press had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly globally. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary provides viewers a social object to share, implying: ‘This is something really serious to look at here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”

The Moment of Projection

The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building requires some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they raced into the hotel.”

A History of Activism

It wasn't their inaugural action; nor was it their first action targeting Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider over the hotel where the then-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 activists weren't overly concerned about arrest. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police arrive, the die is cast.” Officers was swift, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and caps. They had located some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’”

Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that officers didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering 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 deal with a serious offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers.

A Second Arrest and Questioning

Some time in the middle of the night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, now for public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection unit – an irony which was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates responded to every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting 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 anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: an image of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

Just over a month later, every charge were dropped.