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.