The Unfolding Events: The Evening Led By Donkeys Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle

When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s second state visit, including a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The act of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as particularly craven. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded like clockwork.

A Deliberate Message

The group produced a nine-minute film exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files from the criminal probe into that individual … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.)

Preparations and Execution

The activists had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, more crucially, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, atop a public rubbish bin outside.

International press had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, spread rapidly everywhere. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers a social object to share, implying: ‘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 Moment of Projection

It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building requires some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. This electric jolt passed through the officers around me, and they raced into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

It wasn't their inaugural action; nor was it their first effort against Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider over the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.

The Arrests

But, the activists were not especially worried about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” Officers was rapid, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this really calm.’”

Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. The fact that officers were unsure under what law to charge anyone. 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 as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “The law is precise: its purpose is to deal with a serious offence. Applying it to an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, contacting legal counsel.

An Ironic Interrogation

Later that night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, this time for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators were from the child protection squad – an irony that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest concerned Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates responded to all queries with: “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.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: a picture of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the officers were finding it hard to keep a straight face.”

The Final Result

A little more than one month later, every charge was dismissed.