Two Just Stop Oil supporters given suspended sentences for spraying Oxford's Radcliffe Camera orange
The pair used a fire extinguisher to paint the Grade I listed university building
Two Just Stop Oil supporters have been given suspended sentences after spray painting the historic Radcliffe Camera building in Oxford orange.
Daniel Knorr and Noah Crane were sentenced at Oxford Crown Court, having been convicted of criminal damage.
They used a fire extinguisher to spray water-based paint on the Grade I listed building at Oxford University on 10th October 2023.
At the time, Knorr was 21 and a biochemistry student at Oxford, while Crane was 18.
The action was carried out to demand an end to new oil and gas licensing.
The pair appeared before Judge Gledhill to face one count of criminal damage and one count of having an article with intent to destroy or damage property, namely two fire extinguishers filled with paint.
Knorr, now 24, pleaded not guilty and represented himself at trial after his barrister was instructed to recuse herself, with no legal defences left to argue.
Crane, now 21, changed his plea to guilty.
After around three hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict for Knorr.
He was handed a 20-week sentence suspended for two years, 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of £4,000.
Crane was given a 16-week sentence suspended for two years, 120 hours of unpaid work and £1,500 in costs.
The prosecution case was that the pair sprayed the building with orange paint from a fire extinguisher, and it was suggested that a staff member leaving the building was hit with some paint as the action was happening.
The university used a steam-based system to remove the paint at a cost of £2,984.83.
In his defence, Knorr did not deny taking action or that he thought there might be some clean-up costs.
He said he did not intend to cause lasting damage and that they had used water-based children's paint.
He explained that staff had been warned in advance so that paint would not go on people, and that after the action the pair sat on the grass with a loud hailer making declarations about climate change while others handed out leaflets.
Knorr said he was deeply concerned about the climate crisis and had written to MPs and university professors about his fears.
He referenced a 2017 protest by students at King's College London, which resulted in the college divesting from fossil fuels.
In summing up, the judge directed the jury to ignore the protesters outside the court with placards, saying that while "protesting peacefully is a fundamental right in a democracy" he did not want the jury to be influenced by them.
He said the case was not about whether Knorr's beliefs on climate change were right or wrong, but whether he had committed a criminal offence.
In relation to the damage costs, the judge said the defendant had thought it would not cost so much, but concluded that "this is a court of law not a court of sympathy".