Just Stop Oil activist dragged away after disrupting his own graduation ceremony, but waited to receive his diploma first

 An anti-oil activist from the group Just Stop Oil was arrested following receiving a diploma at his own graduation, where he sprayed orange paint in the university courtyard.

The 25-year-old protester named Eddie Whittingham was arrested just after 1:15 p.m. for "suspicion of assault and criminal damage," according to Devon Live. 

During the graduation ceremony at the University of Exeter in England, Whittingham and a woman were accused of spraying the courtyard with orange paint before being dragged and carried away by police, respectively.

"Police were called to Exeter University this afternoon, Monday 17 July, [2023] following reports of a male spraying paint on a pavement, believed to be part of a protest," a local police spokesperson said.

"Officers arrived at the scene and arrested a male on suspicion of assault and criminal damage. A woman was arrested on suspicion of Breach of Bail relating to a separate incident," they added. 

The anti-oil group took ownership of the crimes on its Twitter account and stated that the man used "a paint-loaded fire extinguisher" to vandalize the grounds, but not until after he received his diploma for a "BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics."

It would appear the activist is a repeat offender who infamously interrupted the 2023 World Snooker Championships by climbing on top of a billiards table to spread orange paint, as well. Whittingham had also previously appeared on U.K. channel GB News in March 2023 to express that he would not be having children due to climate change.

"Any dream is looking precarious if we don't sort out the climate crisis," the activist said in response to a question about his life goals.

"I have already decided that I won't be having children because I can't guarantee that there will be a habitable planet for them to grow up into," he added.

The serial offenders said that the reason for their protest was because the University of Exeter had began working with the Shell oil corporation the year prior.

“In 2022, the University of Exeter began a new partnership with Shell, building on decades of collaboration between the university and the oil company. Students are campaigning for the university to cut ties with the oil company," the group explained.

The woman that was arrested at the university protest was allegedly named Kostja Junglas, a 27-year-old Ph.D. student at the University of Oxford, according to the activist group.