LONDON (AP) — The founder of the far-right English Defense League was sentenced Monday to a year and a half in prison for violating a court order banning him from repeating defamatory allegations against a Syrian refugee.

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, admitted at Woolwich Crown Court that he was in contempt of court for breaching a 2021 restraining order by giving interviews on a podcast and showing them on YouTube, as well as in a documentary he presented during a rally in London’s Trafalgar Square in July, which was also posted on his X account and widely viewed.

Judge Jeremy Johnson said Robinson’s violations of the restraining order were not “accidental, negligent or simply reckless” but a “planned, deliberate, direct, flagrant violation of the court’s orders.”

“The defendant has shown no remorse for his breaches of the order. It would have been surprising if he had done that,” Johnson said. “All of his actions to date suggest that he considers himself above the law.”

Robinson, 41, who has been jailed for assault, mortgage fraud and contempt of court in the past, founded the nationalist street protest group EDL in 2009 in response radical Islamic preacher Anjem Choudary. Even after the group faded from view around 2013, he remained one of the most influential far-right figures in Britain and can still draw large crowds onto the streets.

This summer, police accused EDL of starting what became of it a week of unrest across England and Northern Ireland according to social media users incorrectly identified the suspect in an immigrant and Muslim knife attack that killed three young girls in the seaside community of Southport.

Robinson, who was abroad at the time of the attack, was accused of using his social media presence to foment unrest. Although he was banned from Twitter in 2018, he was allowed back after Elon Musk took over the social network and now has 1 million followers on the platform, now known as X.

Thousands of people gathered Saturday in support of Robinson in central London at a “Unite the Kingdom” rally he had planned but which he was unable to attend because he was detained before the hearing.

Robinson was jailed on Friday on a warrant after he failed to appear at a contempt court hearing in July and left the country for Cyprus.

He had been ordered not to repeat false claims in 2018 that a teenager, Jamal Hijazi, was a violent thug who bullied and threatened other students at a school in West Yorkshire, northern England.

Videos Robinson made about Hijazi were viewed more than a million times and led to abuse directed at the boy. He dropped out of school and his family had to leave their home.

Hijazi successfully sued Robinson for defamation in London’s High Court and was awarded 100,000 British pounds ($130,000) in damages and his legal costs. An injunction was issued preventing Robinson from repeating the allegations.

But Robinson has violated the restraining order 10 times since 2023, most notably by airing a documentary he made about the case called “Silenced,” which has been viewed more than 44 million times.

Defense attorney Sasha Wass insisted that Robinson was a journalist who believed in free speech and stood by the documentary she said she produced Alex Jonesthe US conspiracy theorist who founded Infowars.

“He acted as he did and he accepts his guilt because he believes passionately in free speech, a free press and an overwhelming desire to bring the truth to light,” Wass said. “Nevertheless, he accepts the violations outlined, but would like me to clarify on his behalf that he has followed his principles at all times.”

Lawyer Aidan Eardley, speaking on behalf of the Attorney General, said failure to comply with a court order carries the risk of others not respecting court orders.

“The harm here is that millions of people could see Mr Yaxley-Lennon turning his nose up in court,” Eardley said.

Robinson’s supporters packed the gallery in court and crowded outside the courthouse during the hearing.

Robinson, standing in the dock wearing a gray suit and white shirt, looked out at the dozens of people in the stands and shrugged as the sentence was announced. As he left the courtroom, he beat his chest.