This is the moment the Grinch, dressed as Santa, is dragged into a Florida courthouse where he pleads “insanity” in front of a judge while children watching the ‘trial’ laugh and giggle.

The Grinch is a fictional character created by Dr Seuss and features prominently in the 1957 children’s book ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas!’. The character was also the subject of the 2018 film The Grinch starring English actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

In the educational footage, which was shared online by the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office (IRCSO), a man apparently wearing a Grinch costume, replete with a bright red Santa Claus hat and coat, can be seen being dragged into a courthouse by two burly police officers.

He is then brought into a courtroom in which many of the people in the audience appear to be children.

The Grinch stands before a judge, named by the IRCSO as Judge Menz, who asks him how he pleads to charges of burglary and theft.

The Doctor Seuss character replies “insanity”, causing the adults and children in the audience to laugh and giggle.

Even the burly police officers can be seen cracking a swift grin.

The judge manages to keep a straight face while he berates the Grinch for “trying to stop Christmas”, an abhorrent act that she labels as “insane”.

The judge then asks the Grinch how he wishes to plead to burglary and theft, as well as to try and stop Christmas for all the children present, and the Grinch replies “not guilty”.

The judge then asks the Grinch if he wants to have a trial and he said that he does, leading the judge to ask him if he is really “wants his fate in the hands of all these children.”

The Grinch replies: “These are my people, they love me!”

The judge then asks a girl, introduced as Cindy Louhou, the “victim of this crime”, whether or not she loves the Grinch.

Cindy can be seen sitting at a table next to a man in a suit who appears to be her legal representation.

Smirking, she shakes her head, indicating that she does not love the Grinch, causing the accused to boo her as the other children laugh.

The judge then asks the defendant how he wishes to plead again and he replies this time “guilty”.

Judge Menz then explained that she would usually sentence the defendant at this point in the trial, but because the Grinch was trying to ruin Christmas for the children in the courtroom, she tells them that she is delegating that responsibility to them.

She then asks the courtroom: “Who thinks that we should show Mr Grinch mercy?”

Some of the children then raise their hands and say “aye”.

But then the judge asks: “Who thinks we should send Mr Grinch to jail?”

A far greater number and can be heard saying “aye”.

The judge then finds Mr Grinch guilty of both theft and burglary, and “most importantly”, of trying to ruin Christmas.

She says that she is going to sentence him to jail but that she is also going to show him some mercy.

She says that she will release him from prison on Christmas Eve, “because you can’t stop Christmas”.

She then adds, quoting the Dr Seuss story ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ : “As they say in the movie, Christmas comes without ribbons, it becomes about tags, it becomes about packages, boxes or bags. Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

The Grinch is then taken away by the police officers as the members of the audience watching the trial applaud.

The Grinch can then be seen in a jail cell in handcuffs, while a police officer allows some children to peer into the room.

The educational video, apparently geared towards teaching children about the justice system, comes after the IRCSO released footage on 2nd December of the Grinch being arrested “green-handed” for stealing toys.