What Happened Next: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for the former president's upcoming official trip, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go unprotested. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their subsequent art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a nine-minute film exploring the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be referenced, numerous times, in the files from the criminal probe into that individual … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, on top of a garbage can outside.
The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. The film, however, spread rapidly everywhere. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made gives people 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 seen by millions.”
The Moment of Projection
The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. Officers are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt goes through the officers nearby, and the police all pile into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
But, the group's creators weren't especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” Officers was swift, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, highly agitated, Knowles recalls. “Wearing tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no guns. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Stalling multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that officers didn’t know which law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other team members were then arrested for malicious communication, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, appeared contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Some time in the middle of the night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, now for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection squad – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: a picture of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to maintain their composure.”
The Final Result
Just over a month later, every charge were dropped.
