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

When the announcement was made for the former president's second state visit, including a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their subsequent creative protest proceeded like clockwork.

A Provocative Film

Activists created a nine-minute film detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous sex offender. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents from the criminal probe into Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)

The Setup

The activists had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a garbage can outside.

International press had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction globally. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers something tangible to share, implying: ‘There’s something significant to look at here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.”

The Reveal

It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock passed through the officers around me, and they all pile into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

This was not their inaugural action; nor was it their first effort against Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee.

The Arrests

But, the activists were not overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” Officers was rapid, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no guns. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”

Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. The fact that they were unsure which law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other team members were then arrested for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is to address a serious offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, appeared against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after was on a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.

An Ironic Interrogation

Some time in the middle of the night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, this time for causing a public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – a twist that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “No comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take 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: a picture of a giant projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

A little more than a month later, all charges were dropped.