“Jackass” star faces charges after climbing Hollywood crane

Steve-O, the star of the “Jackass” franchise, is facing five charges from city of Los Angeles after an incident earlier this month in which he climbed a Hollywood crane to protest SeaWorld. At the top of the crane, Steve-O inflated a large killer whale balloon with the words “SeaWorld Sucks” on it, and lit fireworks. The charges against him are possessing fireworks without a permit, storing fireworks without a permit, using unregistered fireworks, and creating a false emergency. Los Angeles will also seek financial restitution for the cost of the police and fire responses which were dispatched to get him down. Because the initial responders were not sure if he needed to be saved, a large amount of resources were used. The protest was inspired by an outrage over SeaWorld’s treatment of killer whales, highlighted in the documentary “Blackfish”.