Twenty-three year old animal rights activist Andrew Stepanian is back in jail, this time serving a 6-month sentence for a December 2000 incident in which he was charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of justice.
Both of those charges were misdemeanors, but since Stepanian has a habit of getting arrested every several months — according to one animal rights web site, Stepanian has been arrested 15 times. The judge apparently decided to send a message to the young activist.
Stepanian served several months in jail after being caught smashing windows at a Long Island fur store in 2000. He was arrested in 1999 after chaining himself to a fur store.
In a profile for Newsday, reporter Sean Gardiner had an amusing quote from Stepanian’s mother, Ceil Stepanian, who said,
He’s a bunny hugger. Why are people so afraid of someone who’s concerned about the animals?
I don’t think the problem is so much that Stepanian is concerned with animals as much as that he insists on acting like one in public. Somehow I doubt Ms. Stepanian would be as understanding if some hooligan smashed all the windows in her home or car.
Sources:
Long Island Youth Under Attack. Spirit of Freedom, March 2002.
‘Bunny Hugger’ has a tail, too. Sean Gardiner, Newsday, February 1, 2002.