🔗 Share this article The Aftermath: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle When plans were revealed for the former president's second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet seemed especially servile. Their next creative protest proceeded with precision. A Provocative Film Activists created a short documentary exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in the files related to the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.) Preparations and Execution The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside. International press had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, spread rapidly globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something significant to examine here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.” The Moment of Projection The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the officers around me, and they raced into the hotel.” Not Their First Protest It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first effort targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider over the hotel where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, officers warned him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee. Confrontation with Police However, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into wanting the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police arrive, the die is cast.” Officers was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “They were in jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’” Delaying multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that they didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman 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 other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to address a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers. An Ironic Interrogation Some time that night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, now for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – a twist which was palpable, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. The activists responded to every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘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 large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. Then, the officers struggled to maintain their composure.” The Outcome A little more than one month later, every charge was dismissed.
When plans were revealed for the former president's second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet seemed especially servile. Their next creative protest proceeded with precision. A Provocative Film Activists created a short documentary exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in the files related to the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.) Preparations and Execution The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside. International press had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, spread rapidly globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something significant to examine here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.” The Moment of Projection The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the officers around me, and they raced into the hotel.” Not Their First Protest It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first effort targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider over the hotel where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, officers warned him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee. Confrontation with Police However, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy goes into wanting the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police arrive, the die is cast.” Officers was rapid, reaching the hotel within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “They were in jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to protect the president. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’” Delaying multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that they didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman 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 other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to address a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers. An Ironic Interrogation Some time that night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, now for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – a twist which was palpable, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. The activists responded to every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘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 large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. Then, the officers struggled to maintain their composure.” The Outcome A little more than one month later, every charge was dismissed.