The Unfolding Events: The Night Led By Donkeys Projected Images of Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for the former president's upcoming official trip, including a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a nine-minute film detailing the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious sex offender. His name is said to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents related to the investigation into Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, atop a garbage can outside.
The world’s media had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, spread rapidly globally. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘There’s something really serious to examine here.’ It was an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”
The Reveal
It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building needs some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the officers around me, and the police 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. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider over the resort 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
However, the group's creators were not overly concerned about arrest. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no guns. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Stalling a large number of police officers is a long time. It helped that officers didn’t know under what law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “one officer started reading a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional activists were subsequently detained for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to address a serious offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Later in the middle of the night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and arrested them again, this time for causing a public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection squad – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest involved 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 photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: an image of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to maintain their composure.”
The Final Result
Just over a month later, every charge was dismissed.
