The Unfolding Events: The Night Led By Donkeys Projected Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle

When plans were revealed for the former president's upcoming official trip, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go unprotested. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded like clockwork.

A Provocative Film

Activists created a short documentary exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a longstanding associate of America’s most notorious sex offender. He’s alleged to be referenced, numerous times, in the files related to the investigation into that individual … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)

The Setup

The group had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a public rubbish bin outside.

The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people something tangible to share, implying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at 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 a cylindrical building requires some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they raced into the hotel.”

A History of Activism

This was not their inaugural action; 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 in Scotland. The following year, officers warned him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured.

The Arrests

However, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy is channelled into ensuring the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”

Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. The fact that they didn’t know which law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “one officer started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other team members were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a stalking law. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.

An Ironic Interrogation

Later that night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, now for causing a public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection squad – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. The activists just answered every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘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: an image of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to maintain their composure.”

The Outcome

A little more than one month later, every charge were dropped.