The Unfolding Events: The Evening Led By Donkeys Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto 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 Led By Donkeys was determined to ensure it did not go without a statement. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded like clockwork.

A Provocative Film

Activists created a short documentary exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious sex offender. He’s alleged to be mentioned, repeatedly, in documents from the criminal probe into that individual … Now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)

Preparations and Execution

The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, hidden inside a cereal box, on top of a garbage can outside.

The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, spread rapidly globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. Our documentary provides viewers a social object to share, saying: ‘There’s something really serious 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 official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “First appeared this royal crest. Officers are thinking: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they raced into the hotel.”

A History of Activism

It wasn't their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort against Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider near the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. A year later, officers warned him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.

Confrontation with Police

But, the group's creators weren't especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” Officers was swift, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “They were in jumpsuits and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring 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 really calm.’”

Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that officers didn’t know which law to make arrests. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman 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 team members were then arrested for malicious communication, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a serious offence. To throw it at a piece of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter boarded a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.

An Ironic Interrogation

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 public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection squad – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. Knowles and his associates just answered all queries with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photograph: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated the next move: a picture of a large projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to maintain their composure.”

The Final Result

Just over one month later, every charge were dropped.