The Unfolding Events: The Evening Led By Donkeys Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle

When the announcement was made for the former president's second state visit, including a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the protest group Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass without a statement. The act of rolling out the red carpet seemed particularly craven. Their subsequent art-activist event proceeded like clockwork.

A Deliberate Message

The group produced a nine-minute film exploring the connections with the late financier 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. He’s alleged to be referenced, numerous times, in the files from the investigation into Epstein … And now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.)

Preparations and Execution

The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a powerful projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, atop a public rubbish bin outside.

The world’s media had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. Their film, spread rapidly everywhere. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I’m not sure that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘This is something significant to look at here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.”

The Reveal

It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto the castle's round tower needs some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock goes through the officers around me, and the police raced into the hotel.”

Not Their First Protest

It wasn't their inaugural action; nor was it their first effort targeting Trump. Back in 2018, during his time with Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the then-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 were not especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” Officers was rapid, reaching the hotel in under three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “They were in tactical gear and caps. They had located some protesters. They charged up the stairs; they were briefed; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’”

Delaying multiple police officers for six minutes. The fact that they didn’t know which law to charge anyone. When they finally entered the room, “one officer started reading a section of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three other team members were then arrested for malicious communications, a stalking law. “The law is precise: its purpose is to deal with a really concerning offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, to protect the reputation of the president, seemed contrary to the intent of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he slipped away, then soon after boarded a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers.

A Second Arrest and Questioning

Later that 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. When they came to be questioned, the only officers available were from the child protection unit – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. Knowles and his associates just answered every question with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “They asked, did you remove 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 anticipated the next move: a picture of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.”

The Outcome

A little more than one month later, all charges were dropped.