Jones Released from Jail After Paying 'Peace Bond' - Fox 2 News Headlines

Terry Jones, the Christian pastor who controversially set a Koran aflame last month, was briefly jailed Friday after refusing to pay a "peace bond" ahead of a planned protest outside a mosque in Dearborn, Mich.

Jones and fellow pastor Wayne Sapp had initially refused to pay a token $1 "peace bond" to hold the protest, resulting in them being jailed until it was paid.

About an hour later they were released from Wayne County Jail, after paying the bond, the Detroit Free Press reported.

District Court Judge Mark Somers earlier ordered them to stay off the premises of the largest mosque in the US, and the property directly next to the building, for the next three years.

Prosecutors had initially asked for the bond to be set at $45,000, arguing that would be the cost of the extra security needed to control the rally.

But Somers set the bond at just at $1 apiece for Jones and Sapp. When Somers asked if they would pay the $1 bond, they both replied, "No."

Jones, 59, and Sapp were then led away and taken to the jail.

Earlier a six-member jury ruled that the planned rally would likely "breach the peace" and ordered Jones' group to post a bond for the right to do protest.

Jones, the head of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., was denied a permit on Thursday to protest jihad and Sharia law outside the mosque.

Jones was offered the opportunity to discuss a compromise with prosecutors, who said he should pay a $100,000 "peace bond" for security purposes. But Jones instead chose to let a jury decide whether the bond should be posted.

Jones, who sported a black Harley Davidson T-shirt in the courtroom, told the court his group had no intention of burning the Koran or inciting violence.

"We are not criminals," he said, according to The Detroit News. "All we want to do is exercise our First Amendment rights."

But he also argued the Koran "promotes terrorist activities around the world."

Jones videotaped a Koran-burning ceremony on March 20, unleashing days of bloody protests in Afghanistan, where an attack on a United Nations compound left seven staff members dead.

Prosecutors showed footage of the incineration Friday, saying it proved Jones and his group "have no regard for the safety of others," The Detroit News reported.

Police were called to the parking lot of the FOX owned WJBK television station Thursday night after Jones accidentally discharged a firearm after following an interview at the station. The shot went into the floorboard of his car. No one was hurt and no charges were filed.