Two Just Stop Oil supporters have received suspended sentences at Oxford Crown Court. This follows their convictions for spray painting the historic Radcliffe Camera building orange to demand an end to new oil and gas licensing.

On 10 October 2023, Daniel Knorr, then 21 and a biochemistry student at Oxford, and Noah Crane, then 18, used a fire extinguisher to spray water based paint on the historic Radcliffe Camera building at Oxford University.

Three weeks before the protest, the UK government had granted approval to the Rosebank project in the North Sea, containing 500 million barrels of oil equivalent. In 2022, the UK had broken 40C for the first time in recorded history. And in September 2023 it was experiencing record breaking temperatures far outside any model or forecast.

This week the pair appeared before Judge Gledhill at Oxford Crown Court 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.

Oxford judge rules out legal defences

Ahead of the trial, Judge Gledhill ruled out the possible legal defences of proportionality and belief in consent. He suggested that if Crane and Knorr pleaded guilty, thereby saving court time, he would be able to suspend their sentences.

Otherwise, he warned, if the jury found them guilty at trial, they may spend some time in prison. Crane changed his plea to guilty, while Knorr pleaded not guilty. With no legal defences to argue, Knorr’s barrister was instructed to recuse herself, leaving Knorr to self-represent.

On 24 September, after three hours deliberation, the jury in Oxford returned a guilty verdict for Knorr. The Judge handed down a 20 month sentence suspended for 2 years, unpaid work of 150 hours and costs of £4,000. Crane, who was also sentenced immediately following the verdict, was given a 16 month sentence suspended for 2 years, 120 hours unpaid work and £1,500 costs.

Following the trial, Knorr said:

By refusing to speak up and act the university is undermining the conditions of its own existence. Whilst this remains true students will continue to resist.

Students are being prepared for future careers that simply will not exist. We refuse to let this farce continue to play out. Students will not simply learn about their own slaughter and just meekly accept this, we will continue to resist.

Crane said:

Courts and the law are all made up. The only authority they have is the violence they can inflict, predominantly on those who are already having a hard time.

Equally, the only stock that can be put in this verdict is that if I commit another crime in the next two years I’ll spend a few weeks in prison. I expect that’s a bridge I will end up crossing.

I ended up pleading because I have no respect for the procedure. Daniel continued to have a chance to speak the truth to the jury. I am so proud of them for doing that so well.

In 2025, 143 staff, students and alumni of Oxford University signed a public letter. It stated their view that Knorr and Crane’s action was justified in order to bring attention to the escalating climate crises and challenge government policy on oil licensing which may contribute to billions of deaths worldwide.

Featured image via Hugh Warwick / Just Stop Oil

By The Canary

From Canary via This RSS Feed.