The Aftermath: The Night Led By Donkeys Beamed Images of Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle

When the announcement was made for Donald Trump’s second state visit, including a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed especially servile. Their next art-activist event proceeded with precision.

A Deliberate Message

Activists created a short documentary detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States was a longstanding associate of the nation's most infamous child sex trafficker. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in documents from the criminal probe into that individual … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.)

Preparations and Execution

The activists had secured 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. For audio, Stewart placed a Bluetooth speaker, concealed 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. Their film, gained traction globally. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart notes, “I’m not sure that persuades anyone of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘This is something significant to look at here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”

The Reveal

It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower needs some technical calibration,” Stewart explains. “First appeared this royal crest. Officers are thinking: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock passed through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and the police raced into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

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

The Arrests

But, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the action to succeed,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “By the time the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and caps. They had located the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; they were briefed; they were on a mission to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this really calm.’”

Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that officers were unsure which 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 team members were then arrested for malicious communications, a stalking law. “The law is precise: its purpose is to address 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 sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, officers came in and re-arrested them, this time for causing a public nuisance, deeming it more likely to succeed. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available belonged to the child protection unit – a twist that was palpable, given the subject matter of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists responded to every question 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.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew what was coming: an image of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. Then, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

Just over one month later, all charges was dismissed.