🔗 Share this article The Aftermath: The Evening Led By Donkeys Beamed Pictures Featuring Trump and Epstein on to Windsor Castle When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their next creative protest proceeded like clockwork. A Provocative Film Activists created a nine-minute film detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “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 documents related to the criminal probe into that individual … 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 initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations in relation to Epstein.) Preparations and Execution The activists had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside. The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, spread rapidly everywhere. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made provides viewers something tangible to share, saying: ‘There’s something significant to look at here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.” The Reveal It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the officers around me, and they all pile into the hotel.” A History of Activism This was not their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action targeting Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee. The Arrests However, the group's creators were not especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this really calm.’” Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that they didn’t know which law to make arrests. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional activists were then arrested for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is to address a serious offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter boarded a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers. A Second Arrest and Questioning Later in the middle of the night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection squad – an irony that was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists just answered every question with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: a picture of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. Then, the detectives struggled to keep a straight face.” The Final Result A little more than one month later, every charge were dropped.
When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, complete with a Windsor Castle banquet on September 17th, 2025, the protest group known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome seemed particularly craven. Their next creative protest proceeded like clockwork. A Provocative Film Activists created a nine-minute film detailing the connections with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Its ending stated: “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 documents related to the criminal probe into that individual … 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 initial legal troubles and has consistently denied all allegations in relation to Epstein.) Preparations and Execution The activists had booked rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with “castle view” and, more crucially, “castle view superior”, said a co-founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen projector. For audio, Stewart placed a wireless speaker, hidden within a box of cereal, atop a garbage can outside. The world’s media was assembled, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored awaiting Trump's arrival. Their film, spread rapidly everywhere. “Although photographs of Epstein and Trump spread like wildfire online,” Stewart says, “I doubt that convinces people of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. The film we made provides viewers something tangible to share, saying: ‘There’s something significant to look at here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was viewed 20m times.” The Reveal It started with the official Windsor Castle logo. “It requires the castle's round tower needs a little bit of mapping,” Stewart states. “So there’s this royal crest. The police are thinking: ‘How pleasant – a royal tribute,’ and then abruptly a massive image of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock passed through the officers around me, and they all pile into the hotel.” A History of Activism This was not their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first action targeting Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a motorized paraglider near the hotel where the president was staying in Scotland. A year later, police visited him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee. The Arrests However, the group's creators were not especially worried about detainment. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the protest works,” says Oliver Knowles, another co-founder. “Once the police arrive, the message is already out.” The police response was rapid, arriving in the lobby in under three minutes, “really pumped up”, Knowles recalls. “Wearing jumpsuits and baseball caps. They had located some protesters. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; tasked to safeguard the guest. Thankfully, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘We should keep this really calm.’” Stalling a large number of police officers for six minutes. It helped that they didn’t know which law to make arrests. Upon finally entering the room, “one officer started reading a clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop because it wasn’t right.” Knowles and three additional activists were then arrested for malicious communication, a law related to harassment. “The law is precise: its purpose is to address a serious offence. Applying it to a piece of journalism, projected on to a wall, in defense of the reputation of the president, seemed against the spirit of the legislation,” Stewart says archly. While the others were detained, he melted into the crowd, shortly thereafter boarded a train out of Windsor, calling lawyers. A Second Arrest and Questioning Later in the middle of the night, while the activists were in the cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, this time for public nuisance, deeming it a stronger charge. During interrogation, the sole available interrogators belonged to the child protection squad – an irony that was palpable, given the focus of the protest involved alleged sex offender. The activists just answered every question with: “No comment.” A few minutes into the interview, police presented a photo: “‘Mr Knowles, did you remove the drawer from this bedside table?’ ‘No comment.’ ‘Mr Knowles, do you know anybody else who may have had reason to remove the drawer?’ ‘No comment.’ I knew the next move: a picture of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to several drawers. Then, the detectives struggled to keep a straight face.” The Final Result A little more than one month later, every charge were dropped.