What Happened Next: The Evening Led By Donkeys Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle

When the announcement was made for the former president's upcoming official trip, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their next art-activist event proceeded like clockwork.

A Deliberate Message

The group produced a nine-minute film detailing the connections with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief 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, numerous times, in the files related to the investigation into Epstein … And now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)

Preparations and Execution

The activists had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, atop a garbage can outside.

International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction globally. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘There’s something significant to examine here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”

The Reveal

It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower needs some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. Officers are thinking: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they all pile 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 had flown a motorized paraglider over the resort where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. A year later, officers warned him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.

Confrontation with Police

But, the group's creators were not especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” notes 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”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this really calm.’”

Delaying a large number of police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers were unsure under what law to make arrests. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer started reading a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other activists were then arrested for malicious communication, 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 against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.

A Second Arrest and Questioning

Some time that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available were from the child protection squad – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists responded to all queries with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photograph: “‘Mr Knowles, did you take the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: an image of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”

The Final Result

Just over one month later, all charges were dropped.