When plans were revealed for Donald Trump’s upcoming official trip, including a royal dinner at Windsor on September 17th, 2025, the activist collective known as Led By Donkeys felt compelled to ensure it did not go without a statement. The gesture of offering a lavish welcome was viewed as particularly craven. Their subsequent creative protest unfolded with precision.
The group produced a nine-minute film detailing Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. It concluded: “The president of the United States is alleged to have been a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious sex offender. His name is said to be referenced, numerous times, in documents related to the criminal probe into Epstein … And now that very man, Donald Trump, is a guest within Windsor Castle.” (In response, Trump has stated he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein’s first arrest and repeatedly refuted all allegations in relation to Epstein.)
The activists had secured rooms in the adjacent Harte and Garter hotel, rooms advertised with views of the castle and, even more helpfully, “castle view superior”, said group founder, Ben Stewart. Their equipment included a high-lumen 32,000-lumen projector. To broadcast sound, Stewart positioned a Bluetooth speaker, concealed within a box of cereal, on top of a public rubbish bin outside.
International press had gathered, their gaze fixed at the castle, becoming bored as Trump was delayed. The film, however, spread rapidly everywhere. “Although the still pictures of Epstein and Trump went viral online,” Stewart notes, “I doubt that persuades anyone of anything – it simply makes Trump uneasy. Our documentary gives people a social object to share, saying: ‘This is something significant to look at here.’ It was a piece of guerrilla journalism about Trump and Epstein, and it was seen 20m times.”
The film began with the official Windsor Castle logo. “Projecting onto a cylindrical building needs some technical calibration,” Stewart states. “So there’s the royal coat of arms. Officers likely thought: ‘Ah, that’s nice – the royal family,’ and suddenly a great big picture of Jeffrey Epstein materializes. A wave of shock goes through the officers nearby, and they raced into the hotel.”
This was not their inaugural action; it wasn’t even their first effort against Trump. Back in 2018, while working for Greenpeace, Stewart piloted a paraglider over the hotel where the then-president was staying during a visit to Turnberry. The following year, police visited him that if he tried again, they couldn’t guarantee.
However, the activists were not especially worried about arrest. “All my anxiety is channelled into ensuring the action to succeed,” notes Oliver Knowles, a fellow founder. “By the time the police make the intervention, the die is cast.” Officers was swift, reaching the hotel within three minutes, highly agitated, he remembers. “Wearing jumpsuits and caps. They’d finally found the culprits. They came roaring up the stairs; prepared; they were on a mission to safeguard the guest. Fortunately, no firearms. But they were extremely tense when they entered the room. I told them: ‘Let’s keep this really calm.’”
Stalling 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 clause of the Town and Country Planning Act, which another officer asked him to stop as it was incorrect.” Knowles and three additional team members were then arrested for malicious communication, a stalking law. “The law is precise: its purpose is to address 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 remarks pointedly. While the others were detained, he slipped away, shortly thereafter was on a train leaving Windsor, contacting legal counsel.
Later in the middle of the night, while the activists sat in cells at Maidenhead police station, police re-entered and arrested them again, this time for causing a public nuisance, having decided a stronger charge. During interrogation, the only officers available were from the child protection squad – a twist which was not lost on anyone, given the focus of the protest involved Jeffrey Epstein. The activists just answered all queries with: “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 anticipated what was coming: a picture of a large projector, ratchet-strapped to four drawers. At that point, the officers were finding it hard to maintain their composure.”
Just over one month later, every charge were dropped.
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