The Unfolding Events: The Night Led By Donkeys Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for the former president's upcoming official trip, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent art-activist event unfolded with precision.
A Provocative Film
The group produced 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 sex offender. His name is said to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files related to the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
The Setup
The group had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, atop a garbage can outside.
The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, spread rapidly everywhere. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers something tangible to share, saying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”
The Reveal
It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building 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 appears. This electric jolt goes through the officers nearby, and they all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
This was not the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first action against Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider over the resort where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.
Confrontation with Police
However, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” Officers was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. The fact that officers were unsure which law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other team members were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is to address a serious offence. To throw it at a piece of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, then soon after was on a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Some time that night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, now for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – a twist that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists just answered all queries with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you remove 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 anticipated what was coming: an image of a large projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to maintain their composure.”
The Outcome
Just over one month later, every charge were dropped.
