The Unfolding Events: The Evening The Activist Group Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle
When plans were revealed for the former president's upcoming official trip, complete with a royal dinner at Windsor on 17 September 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled not to let it pass unprotested. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as especially servile. Their next art-activist event proceeded with precision.
A Deliberate Message
Activists created a nine-minute film exploring the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The commander-in-chief of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of the nation's most infamous sex offender. He’s alleged to be referenced, repeatedly, in documents from the investigation into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is sleeping here within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he ended his friendship with Epstein long prior to Epstein’s initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations concerning Epstein.)
Preparations and Execution
The group had booked rooms in the nearby Harte and Garter hotel, which boast “castle view” and, more crucially, superior castle views, according to group founder, Ben Stewart. They utilized a powerful 32,000-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart positioned a wireless speaker, concealed inside a cereal box, on top of a garbage can outside.
International press had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, growing restless as Trump was delayed. The film, however, gained traction globally. “While photographs of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it just makes Trump uneasy. The film we made gives people something tangible to share, implying: ‘There’s something really serious to look at here.’ We took an act of activist journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen by millions.”
The Reveal
The film began 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: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein appears. A wave of shock goes through the police in fluorescent jackets nearby, and they raced into the hotel.”
Not Their First Protest
It wasn't the group’s first rodeo; it wasn’t even their first effort against Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider over the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. The following year, police visited him that any repeat, his safety wasn't assured.
Confrontation with Police
However, the group's creators weren't overly concerned about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police make the intervention, the message is already out.” The police response was swift, reaching the hotel within three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing tactical gear and caps. They’d finally found some protesters. They charged up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were very adrenalised upon entering the room. I had to say: ‘We should keep this calm.’”
Delaying multiple police officers for six minutes. The fact that officers were unsure which law to make arrests. Upon finally entering the room, “a policeman started reading a section 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 subsequently detained for malicious communication, 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, projected on to 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, then soon after boarded a train leaving Windsor, calling lawyers.
A Second Arrest and Questioning
Later in the middle of the night, while the activists 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 – an irony that was not lost on anyone, given the subject matter of the protest concerned alleged sex offender. The activists responded to all queries with: “I have no comment.” Shortly after starting the interview, police presented a photo: “They asked, did you take 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 knew the next move: a picture of a giant projector, secured to four drawers. At that point, the officers struggled to maintain their composure.”
The Final Result
Just over one month later, all charges was dismissed.
