A United States court charged Britney Spears’ ex-husband with a felony count of stalking on Monday after he attempted to gatecrash the pop princess’ wedding in southern California.
Spears and her longtime partner Sam Asghari were preparing to wed Thursday in her home in Thousand Oaks, California, when the proceedings were interrupted.
Jason Allen Alexander, a childhood friend the 40-year-old singer was very briefly married to in 2004, crashed the sun-soaked event, sparking a police response.
According to court filings in Ventura County’s court, Alexander was charged with a felony count of stalking, as well as misdemeanours counts of trespassing, vandalism and battery.
The 40-year-old Louisiana native – who had appeared in court via Zoom from jail – pled not guilty to the charges, and the judge issued a restraining order requiring Alexander to stay 100 yards from Spears.
His bail was also set at $100,000, and a hearing is next scheduled for Wednesday.
Spears’ attorney Mathew Rosengart told reporters he was “pleased” by how the sheriff’s office responded to Alexander’s intrusion.
“This is a serious matter, this is not a ‘wedding crash’ — this was an infiltration, as we all shockingly saw,” Rosengart said outside the courthouse.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Alexander also has an open warrant for grand theft embezzlement and possession of stolen property.
Spears’ wedding to Asghari was not widely trailed, with news of the nuptials appearing in specialist publications only hours earlier.
The star-studded affair was attended by celebrities like Madonna, Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore, Paris Hilton, and Donatella Versace, who had designed the wedding dress.
