What Happened Next: 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, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass without a statement. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet seemed especially servile. Their next art-activist event proceeded with precision.

A Provocative Film

Activists created a short documentary exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous sex offender. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents from the criminal probe into that individual … And now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)

The Setup

The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.

International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. The film, however, spread rapidly everywhere. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made provides viewers a social object to share, saying: ‘This is something really serious to look at here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed by millions.”

The Moment of Projection

The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock passed through the officers 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 had flown a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.

The Arrests

But, the group's creators weren't especially worried about detainment. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police arrive, the message is already out.” Officers was rapid, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this really calm.’”

Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that they were unsure 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, before another told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional activists were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a stalking law. “The law is precise: it’s designed 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, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.

An Ironic Interrogation

Later that night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection unit – a twist which was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photo: “They asked, did you remove 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: a picture of a large projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

Just over one month later, all charges was dismissed.