Far-right activist Daniel Thomas, also known as Danny Tommo, has been charged after a video appeared to show him slashing at a dinghy in the English Channel.
The 37-year-old has been charged with criminal damage and failing to disclose the PIN to his phone, Hampshire Police said.
He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court via videolink on Friday, the force added.
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Thomas had been arrested on Wednesday after footage livestreamed online appeared to show him taking a knife to an inflatable dinghy when a French coastguard official was on board.
On Thursday evening, hundreds of Thomas’s supporters gathered outside a police investigation centre in Basingstoke believing he was inside.
Protestors chanted “free DT” and eventually dispersed at around 9:45 after they learned of the charges against Thomas, the BBC reports.
Chris Derrick, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Wessex, said in a statement: “Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
“We remind all concerned that proceedings against the defendant are active and he has the right to a fair trial.”