🔗 Share this article The Unfolding Events: The Evening Led By Donkeys Projected Images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle When the announcement was made for the former president's second state visit, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The act of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their next art-activist event proceeded like clockwork. A Deliberate Message Activists created a nine-minute film detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend 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 Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted 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, superior castle views, said group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, atop a public rubbish bin outside. The world’s media had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, spread rapidly globally. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘This is something significant to examine here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed by millions.” The Reveal It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the officers nearby, and they all pile into the hotel.” A History of Activism It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first action targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured. Confrontation with Police However, the activists were not overly concerned about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and baseball caps. They’d finally found 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 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 make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting 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 activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “The law is precise: its purpose is to deal with a serious 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. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers. A Second Arrest and Questioning Some time that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, now 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 squad – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. The activists just answered 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 nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: an image of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.” The Outcome A little more than one month later, all charges was dismissed.
When the announcement was made for the former president's second state visit, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the activist collective Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The act of rolling out the red carpet was viewed as especially servile. Their next art-activist event proceeded like clockwork. A Deliberate Message Activists created a nine-minute film detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend 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 Epstein … Now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here in Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted 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, superior castle views, said group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, atop a public rubbish bin outside. The world’s media had gathered, staring at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, spread rapidly globally. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uncomfortable. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, saying: ‘This is something significant to examine here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed by millions.” The Reveal It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building requires a little bit of mapping,” Stewart explains. “So there’s this royal crest. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the officers nearby, and they all pile into the hotel.” A History of Activism It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first action targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, his safety wasn't assured. Confrontation with Police However, the activists were not overly concerned about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into wanting the protest works,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police arrive, the die is cast.” The police response was swift, arriving in the lobby within three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “They were in jumpsuits and baseball caps. They’d finally found 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 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 make arrests. When they finally entered the room, “one officer began reciting 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 activists were subsequently detained for malicious communications, a stalking law. “The law is precise: its purpose is to deal with a serious 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. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers. A Second Arrest and Questioning Some time that night, as the detainees sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, now 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 squad – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. The activists just answered 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 nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Sir, do you know anyone who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: an image of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. At that point, the detectives were finding it hard to keep a straight face.” The Outcome A little more than one month later, all charges was dismissed.