The Unfolding Events: The Evening Led By Donkeys Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When the announcement was made for the former president's second state visit, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on 17 September 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass without a statement. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded like clockwork.
A Provocative Film
Activists created a nine-minute film exploring Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. His name is said to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents from the investigation into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast views of the castle and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a powerful projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside.
The world’s media was assembled, staring at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, gained traction everywhere. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, implying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The Moment of Projection
The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “First appeared this royal crest. Officers likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the officers nearby, and they all pile into the hotel.”
Not Their First Protest
It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first effort targeting Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the resort where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that any repeat, they couldn’t guarantee.
Confrontation with Police
But, the activists were not overly concerned about detainment. “My nervous energy goes into ensuring the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Delaying a large number of police officers is a long time. It helped that officers were unsure which law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “and it’s very specific: it’s designed to address a serious offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, projected on to a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, appeared contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
An Ironic Interrogation
Some time in the middle of the 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 a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – an irony which was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “I have no comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photograph: “They asked, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: an image of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the detectives struggled to maintain their composure.”
The Outcome
Just over a month later, all charges were dropped.
