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'Dreadhead Cowboy' Sentenced To 90 Days In Jail For Contempt Of Court After Repeatedly Interrupting Judge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Activist Adam Hollingsworth, known as the "Dreadhead Cowboy," was sentenced to 90 days in jail on Tuesday, after repeatedly interrupting a Cook County judge during a hearing in his animal cruelty case.

Hollingsworth is representing himself against animal cruelty charges after he rode his horse for several miles down the Dan Ryan Expressway during a protest last year, causing the animal to suffer several injuries.

At a hearing in his case on Tuesday, Judge Michael McHale ruled Hollingsworth in contempt of court, after Hollingsworth repeatedly interrupted the judge, despite warnings not to do so. According to a copy of the judge's written contempt ruling, Hollingsworth also has "repeatedly made misrepresentations to this court" since his arraignment one year ago, including "serious and baseless allegations against opposing counsel today that they were intentionally and in bad faith hiding evidence."

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According to the Sun-Times, during a hearing on Monday, Hollingsworth claimed he has not received some materials from prosecutors, including a video from a Chicago police squad car that was played in open court.

The judge ordered Hollingsworth to return to court on Tuesday with a flash drive prosecutors had turned over to him, but during Tuesday's hearing he claimed his dog had chewed it up, the Sun-Times reports.

"This defendant continued to interrupt this court and also gave evasive answers to very direct questions in an effort to distract, confuse and delay the proceedings as he done regularly throughout these proceedings," McHale wrote in his contempt ruling.

Even after repeated warnings that interrupting the judge would result in him being held in contempt, Hollingsworth continued to argue with the judge, who ordered him taken into custody, and sentenced him to 90 days in jail for criminal contempt of court.

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