'Jackass' star Steve-O gets 30-days in jail for protest stunt

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - Actor/stuntman "Steve-O," known for the "Jackass" television and movie franchise, was sentenced today to 30 days in county jail and three years probation for climbing up a construction crane in Hollywood in a protest against SeaWorld.

Stephen Gilchrist Glover, 41, was sentenced immediately after pleading no contest to one count each of use of fireworks and trespassing. He is set to surrender Dec. 9 to begin serving his jail term, according to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

In a post to his followers on Instagram, Glover wrote, "I just got sentenced to 30 days in LA County jail, and this is what I have to say about it: `Considering I've become a clean and sober, dog-rescuing vegan, I must say I'm ready to go to jail -- not just because it will bring so much attention to the plight of orcas in captivity, but because it's nice to let people know I haven't lost my edge.

"What can I say, I'm a jackass," he wrote. "My whole crane-climbing, fireworks debacle really turned out to be pretty meaningful in the end, too. I mean, if your goal is to make a statement about captivity, you may as well get yourself locked up!"

The posting included a cartoon figure of him in a jail cell, next to a jail cell containing an orca.

The terms of Glover's probation bar him from using, possessing, manufacturing, storing or transporting fireworks, and require him to stay 100 yards away from the Hollywood Entertainment District bordered by La Brea Avenue on the west, Franklin Avenue on the north, Argyle Avenue on the east and Selma Avenue on the south.

He was also instructed "not to engage or participate in any staged fight in public, feigned medical emergency or any other non-approved or non-permitted stunt or prank in public reasonably likely to elicit an emergency response from police, fire or rescue personnel within Los Angeles County."

Glover must pay nearly $13,900 in restitution to the Los Angeles Police and Fire departments, along with a $500 fine and penalty assessments.

Glover was arrested Aug. 9 after he entered a secured construction site, climbed a crane, set off a firework and dropped an inflatable Shamu toy reading "Seaworld Sucks" before climbing down. Glover live-streamed the entire stunt online.

Crews were sent around 8 that evening to 6094 W. Selma Ave. on a report of a possible jumper who turned out to be Glover, who had alerted his Twitter followers and Facebook fans the previous day about his plans to carry out a public stunt in opposition to SeaWorld's treatment of killer whales and other
sea life.

Police blasted the stunt, calling it a massive waste of officers' and firefighters' time. Responding fire crews deployed air cushions beneath the crane, unsure if Glover planned to jump. As he walked out of jail in Hollywood the next morning, Glover was defiant. "For God's sake, get a pair of binoculars," he said. "I used binoculars to make sure that the hatch was open. ... (With binoculars), you'd be able to recognize, `Hey, that's Steve-O filming himself with an inflatable killer whale after he had posted that he was gonna do that to millions and millions."

Glover made headlines last year when he defaced a freeway exit sign in San Diego to make it read "SeaWorld Sucks."