Man Fighting While Dressed As Easter Bunny Wanted In NJ

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Dressed as the Easter bunny, he stepped in to break up a fight between a man and a woman in Orlando this past weekend.

Unfortunately, that same man is also wanted in South Brunswick for breaking into cars, police said, and for more serious crimes elsewhere in Florida, including two armed robberies and a carjacking.

Yes, South Brunswick police have confirmed that it's the same Antoine McDonald, 20, wanted in this jurisdiction.

As the Sarasota, Florida Patch reported, the now-infamous fight occurred at around 10:30 p.m. Easter Sunday in downtown Orlando: McDonald told Click Orlando he was out bar hopping (while wearing the bunny suit) with his cousin and his girlfriend when he saw the pair fighting on the ground outside SAK Comedy Lab. The fight began after the woman bumped into the man. McDonald said he saw the man spitting on the woman and punching her. An Orlando police officer broke up the fight and nobody was arrested.

He's also the same McDonald wanted in South Brunswick for breaking into cars. South Brunswick police released this photo and arrest warrant for McDonald this past September; he was 19 at the time. Police say surveillance cameras at a South Brunswick home show McDonald and an accomplice entering an unlocked car and rummaging through the center console.

This was at a time when there was a rash of unlocked car burglaries that hit South Brunswick last summer. As we reported at the time, there had been more than 60 car break-ins in summer/September 2018 in South Brunswick and East Brunswick.

At the time, police said they knew McDonald had left New Jersey and they were asking the public to call in tips as to his whereabouts.

South Brunswick police area aware of McDonald's newfound celebrity status.

"We are aware of the video showing Antoine McDonald," said South Brunswick police on Twitter Tuesday. "He had a warrant issued for him in October of 2018 for car burglaries in South Brunswick and failed to appear in court. His warrant remains active."

The Tampa Bay Times reports that McDonald is also a "person of interest" in several armed robberies and a carjacking in Pasco County, Florida, which is just north of Tampa, and , they reported. The Tampa Bay Times was the first to make the connection that it is the same McDonald in all four incidents: The Easter Bunny fight, the Pasco County armed robberies, the Delaware armed robberies and the South Brunswick car break-in.

South Brunswick Deputy Police Chief Jim Ryan also told the Tampa Bay Times that McDonald was arrested in 2018 for harassing a man on social media and for spitting at a 7-Eleven employee. He was also involved in an assault on a basketball court, which did not lead to an arrest.

"He's got a lot of entries last year," Ryan told the news outlet.

McDonald could have remained anonymous in his bunny suit. But he gave several media interviews, including to TMZ, after the fight was captured on Instagram and said he knew he had to intervene. He also created an Instagram account, @badbunnyof19, where he says he's a "hero bunny protecting the people." It's unconfirmed if the fight was a stunt.

It's unknown if McDonald has been taken into custody by Florida officials.