Radical Islamic activist Anjem Choudary and associate Mohammed Mizanur Rahman have been charged in London with "inviting support" for the Islamic State (ISIS), The Washington Post reports.

Choudry, 48, and Rahman, 32, were charged under Britain's "inviting support for a proscribed terrorist organization" which falls under the country's Terrorism Act 2000, according to the Daily Mail.  They posted videos online of lectures they had given June 29, 2014 and March 6 of this year, according to London's Metropolitan Police.

The arrests are seen as the first major test of Britain's attempt to go after extremism.

Choudary is a controversial figure in the U.K., including among the vast majority of Muslims, columist Ishaan Tharoor writes at the Post.  His outspoken support of enforcing Sharia law in Western countries has draw attention, and at the time of his latest arrest he was out on bail since his September arrest with 11 followers.

Choudary has appeared on Newsmax TV's  "Steve Malzberg Show," where he asked the host in January if he was Jewish.

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Choudary is a lawyer by training and said in a Wednesday court appearance that he would be representing himself.

When asked by Deputy District Judge Howard Riddle how he would plea, Choudary replied, "I will be pleading [Prime Minister David] Cameron, police and the judges are guilty and the only people who are innocent here are me and Mr. Rahman."

Riddle replied he would take the statement as a "not guilty" plea.

Prosecutor David Cawthorne argued that Choudary has a large online influence, with 32,000 Facebook followers.

"By encouraging the requirement for travel to the Islamic State, they are calling and inviting support for a proscribed organization," Cawthorne told the court.

"Both are men of learning and educated men and are familiar with the legislation and were aware of the risk," he added. "But despite that awareness they [went] too far and their intention was clear from the posting on social media."

Their next court appearance is August 28. The charges could bring 10 years in prison.

Many of Choudary's critics say he is a "clown figure," with few followers, though he has been linked to several people who have been convicted of terrorism, the Post notes.

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