The Unfolding Events: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for the former president's upcoming official trip, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their next art-activist event proceeded like clockwork.
A Deliberate Message
The group produced a short documentary detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, repeatedly, in the files related to the criminal probe into that individual … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied all allegations concerning Epstein.)
The Setup
The group had secured rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, superior castle views, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside.
International press was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, spread rapidly globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘This is something really serious to examine here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed by millions.”
The Reveal
It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building requires some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “First appeared this royal crest. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt passed through the officers nearby, and the police raced into the hotel.”
A History of Activism
This was not the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first effort targeting Trump. In 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider over the hotel where the then-president was staying in Scotland. The following year, officers warned him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
The Arrests
But, the group's creators were not overly concerned about arrest. “My nervous energy is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “They were in tactical gear and baseball caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘Let’s keep this calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. The fact that they were unsure which law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer began reciting a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with a really concerning offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter was on a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time that night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, this time for causing a public nuisance, having decided more likely to succeed. During interrogation, the only officers available belonged to the child protection squad – a twist which was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists responded to every question with: “I have 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 anticipated the next move: a picture of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the detectives struggled to maintain their composure.”
The Outcome
A little more than a month later, all charges were dropped.
