🔗 Share this article The Aftermath: The Night Led By Donkeys Projected Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet seemed especially servile. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded like clockwork. A Provocative Film Activists created a short documentary detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a longstanding associate 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 in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.) Preparations and Execution The activists had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, on top of a public rubbish bin outside. The world’s media had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, spread rapidly globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘This is something really serious to look at here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.” The Reveal The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock goes through the officers around me, and the police all pile into the hotel.” Not Their First Protest It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action against Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the resort where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, officers warned him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee. Confrontation with Police But, the group's creators weren't especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing jumpsuits and caps. They had located some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this really calm.’” Stalling multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that officers were unsure which law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman 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 team members were then arrested for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with 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 says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, shortly thereafter was on a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers. An Ironic Interrogation Some time in the middle of the night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, this time for causing a public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available were from the child protection unit – a twist which 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, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: an image of a large projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the detectives struggled to maintain their composure.” The Outcome A little more than one month later, all charges was dismissed.
When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of rolling out the red carpet seemed especially servile. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded like clockwork. A Provocative Film Activists created a short documentary detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a longstanding associate 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 in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and repeatedly refuted any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.) Preparations and Execution The activists had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, according to a co-founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, on top of a public rubbish bin outside. The world’s media had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, spread rapidly globally. “While the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘This is something really serious to look at here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.” The Reveal The film began with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock goes through the officers around me, and the police all pile into the hotel.” Not Their First Protest It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action against Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider near the resort where the president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, officers warned him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee. Confrontation with Police But, the group's creators weren't especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing jumpsuits and caps. They had located some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this really calm.’” Stalling multiple police officers for six minutes. It helped that officers were unsure which law to make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “a policeman 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 team members were then arrested for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: it’s designed to deal with 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 says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, shortly thereafter was on a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers. An Ironic Interrogation Some time in the middle of the night, as the detainees were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and re-arrested them, this time for causing a public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available were from the child protection unit – a twist which 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, the officers slid over a photograph: “They asked, did you take the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anyone who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: an image of a large projector, secured to several drawers. At that point, the detectives struggled to maintain their composure.” The Outcome A little more than one month later, all charges was dismissed.