The Aftermath: The Evening Led By Donkeys Projected Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for the former president's upcoming official trip, including a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as particularly craven. Their next art-activist event unfolded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a short documentary detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious sex offender. He’s alleged to be mentioned, repeatedly, in the files from the criminal probe into that individual … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)
The Setup
The group had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a public rubbish bin outside.
The world’s media had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction everywhere. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘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
It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock goes through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they raced into the hotel.”
Not Their First Protest
This was not the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first action targeting Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider over the resort where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. 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. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing jumpsuits and caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Delaying a large number of police officers is a long time. It helped that they didn’t know under what 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 as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional team members were then arrested for malicious communication, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, then soon after was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
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 more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection squad – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered all queries with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “They asked, did you remove 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: a picture of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. Then, the officers were finding it hard to maintain their composure.”
The Outcome
A little more than one month later, every charge were dropped.
