🔗 Share this article What Happened Next: The Evening Led By Donkeys Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s second state visit, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass without a statement. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their next creative protest unfolded like clockwork. A Deliberate Message The group produced a nine-minute film detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous sex offender. His name is said to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents from the criminal probe into that individual … Now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.) The Setup The group had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, atop a public rubbish bin outside. The world’s media had gathered, staring at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction everywhere. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers something tangible to share, implying: ‘This is something significant to look at here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.” The Reveal It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they all pile into the hotel.” Not Their First Protest This was not the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the then-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 However, the group's creators were not overly concerned about arrest. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” Officers was rapid, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’” Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that they didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other team members were then arrested for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to address a serious offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers. An Ironic Interrogation Later that night, while the activists sat in 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 sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – an irony which was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists just answered all queries with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: a picture of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.” The Outcome Just over a month later, every charge was dismissed.
When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s second state visit, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass without a statement. The act of offering a lavish welcome seemed especially servile. Their next creative protest unfolded like clockwork. A Deliberate Message The group produced a nine-minute film detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with notorious figure Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous sex offender. His name is said to be mentioned, numerous times, in documents from the criminal probe into that individual … Now that president, Donald Trump, is a guest in Windsor Castle.” (For his part, Trump maintains he ended his friendship with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.) The Setup The group had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, atop a public rubbish bin outside. The world’s media had gathered, staring at the castle, growing restless awaiting Trump's arrival. The film, however, gained traction everywhere. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary provides viewers something tangible to share, implying: ‘This is something significant to look at here.’ We took a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.” The Reveal It started with the recognizable Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower requires some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “First appeared the royal coat of arms. The police likely thought: ‘How pleasant – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. This electric jolt goes through the police in fluorescent jackets around me, and they all pile into the hotel.” Not Their First Protest This was not the group’s first rodeo; nor was it their first action targeting Trump. In 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart had flown a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the then-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 However, the group's creators were not overly concerned about arrest. “All my anxiety goes into wanting the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” Officers was rapid, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, he remembers. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They charged up the stairs; prepared; tasked to protect the president. Fortunately, no guns. But they were extremely tense upon entering the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this calm.’” Delaying multiple police officers is a long time. It helped that they didn’t know under what law to charge anyone. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, before another told him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three other team members were then arrested for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “and it’s very specific: its purpose is to address a serious offence. To throw it at an act of journalism, displayed on a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. As his colleagues were arrested, he melted into the crowd, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers. An Ironic Interrogation Later that night, while the activists sat in 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 sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection unit – an irony which was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists just answered all queries with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, the officers slid over a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this nightstand?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had cause to take the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I anticipated what was coming: a picture of a giant projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. Then, the officers struggled to keep a straight face.” The Outcome Just over a month later, every charge was dismissed.