Tommy Robinson, the founder of the English Defence League, has been jailed for 13 months.
Robinson was arrested on Friday after a judge lifted reporting restrictions on the case on Tuesday. The founder of the far-right group broadcasted a video on Facebook from outside the Leeds crown court where he made comments that risked the trial.
Judge Marson QC imposed the media restrictions on the arrest for fear that reporting his arrest would lead to prejudice in the ongoing trial.
The Facebook was viewed over 250,000 times and showed defendants entering the court while he spoke about the case.
In the UK, any filming or recording of courts and court precincts is illegal under section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925 and the Contempt of Court Act.
Since his arrest, hundreds of protesters in Whitehall on Saturday where they were seen carrying placards reading “#FreeTommy”. The news could not be reported in the media until now after The Independent and Leeds Live fought a reporting restriction put on the case.
A change.org petition that calls for his release had received almost 500,000 signatures by Tuesday afternoon.
Robinson was arrested, charged and sentenced within five hours of being court. The EDL founder pleaded guilty.
Robinson has been arrested several times. In 2009 he was given a suspended sentence for committing contempt during a rape trial in Canterbury. He attempted to film the defendants and was warned of prison if he broke the law again.
Since the arrest, the UKIP peer Malcolm Lord Pearson threatened Home Secretary Sajid Javid and said that if Robinson comes under any harm in prison Pearson will mount a “private prosecution: against him.