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

When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s second state visit, complete with 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 was viewed as particularly craven. Their subsequent creative protest proceeded with precision.

A Deliberate Message

The group produced a nine-minute film detailing the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents from the investigation into Epstein … Now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)

The Setup

The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside.

The world’s media had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction globally. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘This is something significant to examine here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”

The Reveal

It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s this royal crest. Officers likely thought: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they raced into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first effort targeting Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider over the hotel where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, officers warned him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.

Confrontation with Police

But, the activists weren't overly concerned about detainment. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”

Stalling multiple police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional team members were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “The law is precise: it’s designed to address a serious offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, appeared contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, shortly thereafter 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 re-arrested them, this time 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 that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take 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 knew the next move: a picture of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the detectives struggled to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

Just over one month later, all charges were dropped.