Dread Head Cowboy warned he can be held in contempt for social media posts

An exasperated Cook County judge Tuesday repeatedly warned Adam Hollingsworth — better known as the Dread Head Cowboy — that he could be held in contempt of court if he continues to make social media posts that contain false information pertaining to his case or are disrespectful to prosecutors.

“You really run the risk of me holding you in contempt of court,” Judge Michael McHale warned Hollingsworth, who was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals in the fall after he galloped his horse on the Dan Ryan Expressway to protest violence against children.

“This is serious stuff. “You’re in felony court.”

Hollingsworth’s pinto-colored mare, NuNu, was severely injured as a result of being ridden hard on the asphalt roadway during the Dan Ryan stunt, authorities claimed.

Hollingsworth was ordered to turn over his horses to the county and they were placed in the care of Tinley Park’s Forest View Farms, which currently has custody of two of his horses, a representative of Forest View Farms said in court Tuesday.

In several Facebook posts and videos, Hollingsworth claimed he had traveled to Las Vegas and bought a new horse and that he had given one of his horses to a third party instead of turning it over to the county, prosecutors told McHale.

The caption in a Feb. 27 post of a horse Hollingsworth called “prince aka batman” read “this is who they want” and “y’all can’t have him,” prosecutors said.

Hollingsworth, 33, told the judge that he had actually sold that horse in September, well before he was ordered to turn his animals over to the county.

Facebook

As to the rest of the posts, Hollingsworth said, “Everything I said was false,” adding that his right to free speech allowed him to say such things.

Hollingsworth said he had posted the misleading statements because he was being “harassed” by the state’s attorney’s office as it monitored his social media accounts.

“That’s not harassment, Mr. Hollingsworth,” McHale said, noting it was prosecutors’ duty to inform the judge if he violated his bond or other court orders. “You’re wasting court resources.”

Prosecutors Tuesday also pointed to a video Hollingsworth posted last week, calling the government “corrupt.” In that post, he allegedly addressed an assistant state’s attorney by name, said he had a message for her and said “F--- You.”

“Almost everything you said there is protected by the First Amendment,” McHale said. “You can say the government is corrupt, lots of people say that, but what I will not tolerate is that kind of disrespect and incivil [sic] conduct.”

Hollingsworth decided to represent himself in his criminal case after he publicly fired his private defense attorney in October.

Hollingsworth’s lack of knowledge of court procedures was on display Tuesday, as he was confused over rules that bar him from contacting the judge privately, was told he hadn’t filed motions properly and was warned by McHale that he could not publicly post the state’s discovery materials when they were handed over to him.

Hollingsworth accused McHale of being biased against him, said he felt “harassed” by the court and asked if he could post his feelings on Facebook.

“I don’t have the motions because you didn’t file them properly,” McHale snapped. “That’s not harassment. That’s not bias. That’s just treating you equally like any other attorney. I told you, you were going to have a hard time being your own attorney, but fine, here’s an example: You don’t know how to file things correctly.

“I’m treating you equally, sir. You just don’t seem to like how it’s going.”