“I’m proud of Jose Villagran for standing up for this,” said Harry Olson, Villagran’s attorney.

Judge David Jordan, who sentenced Villagran, viewed part of his arrest on YouTube.com and didn’t consider the police report in the ruling, he said.

“The prosecutor’s plea bargain recognized there may be probable cause for resistance and at the low end, minimal,” Jordan said. “I respect that.”

Parts of Villagran’s arrest, which is on YouTube, did not appear in the arresting officer’s report, Jordan said.

Jordan said he received the YouTube link from Villagran’s parole officer. The use of the video Web site for determining a court case might seem outlandish, however, judges and juries have relied on media before, said Jane Briggs-Bunting, director of MSU’s School of Journalism and a board member of The State News.

“It’s great a judge would use that for information, it’s a whole new twist on things,” Briggs-Bunting said. “In the past, courts have used TV, and certainly newspaper offices have been searched for photographs. Just simply 21st century use of an old tool.”

The YAF event featured Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Co-founder Chris Simcox. The Minuteman Corps is a group of citizens who claim to protect the U.S. border from illegal