UPDATE Trenton Pleads Not Guilty

The boat race swimmer is in court today.

anarchists boat race Cambridge court Oxford trenton oldfield

UPDATE 5.15pm

Oldfield has pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing a public nuisance.

Appearing at Isleworth Crown Court today the protester entered his plea, and was granted bail until September 24th, when he will stand trial.

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Trenton Oldfield, the man who stopped the boat race, is to appear in court today.

Oldfield, 36, is charged with causing a public nuisance on April 7 in the Thames near Chiswick Eyot, after he swam in front of the boats in the 158th annual race.

His first court appearance, exactly a month ago, saw heavy bail terms imposed, preventing him from entering the City of Westminster on certain dates, or the Olympic torch route, to prevent further protests. His conditions prevent him from entering Cambridge to take part in the Anarchist march planned for next month. At the time he entered no plea.

Oldfield, an LSE graduate who lives in Central London, claimed to be protesting about elitism when he disrupted the famous race by swimming between the boats.

Trenton interrupting the race

A website said to be written by him includes “manifesto for civil disobedience”, whilst his tweets after the race said he was prepared to do jail time in order to change the system. That now looks like a reality.

He continued: “Still waiting for someone to show me when elitism (seeing oneself above another) hasn’t lead to oppression and tyranny?”

The interruption was widely condemned as a dangerous and pointless stunt, with the Oxford captain tweeting Oldfield to tell him “this was the culmination of our careers and you took it from us.”

Students, who reacted angrily at the time, will be hoping for a stiff sentence. James Sheldon, a second year engineer, told The Tab that “The man is a knob. He screwed up those guys day to make a point, now the court should make a point of him.”