JACKSON (AP) — A Mississippi judge ordered an attorney to spend several hours in jail Wednesday after the lawyer refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in court.

Chancery Judge Talmadge Littlejohn told people in the courtroom Wednesday to stand up and say the pledge.

Oxford Attorney Danny Lampley “failed and refused to do so” and was jailed for criminal contempt of court, according to the judge’s order, obtained by The Associated Press.

Lampley, 49, was booked into the Lee County jail where he stayed for about five hours.

Littlejohn’s order said: “Lampley shall purge himself of said criminal contempt by complying with the order of this Court by standing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in open court.”

Another ruling later in the day ordered Lampley’s release, saying he was scheduled to represent a client in the courtroom.

Littlejohn has not responded to messages left at his home and office. Lampley didn’t respond to calls, either.

The judge’s calendar said Lampley was representing a client in a divorce case.

Littlejohn is in his second term as a chancery judge and presides over a court that handles cases like divorces and child custody disputes. Judges in Mississippi are elected, though they run in nonpartisan races.

Littlejohn is up for re-election in November, but he’s running unopposed.