A former national security official for former President Barack Obama was arrested by the New York City Police Department on Wednesday after a video of him using Islamophobic language against a food vendor went viral.
Stuart Seldowitz was arrested on charges of hate crime/stalking, second-degree aggravated harassment, stalking causing fear, and stalking at employment, an NYPD official told CNN.
ANATOMY OF A DEAL: HOW THE ISRAEL-HAMAS HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS PLAYED OUT
The arrest is the latest consequence for Seldowitz in the aftermath of the video after a Manhattan-based lobbying firm cut ties with him on Tuesday.
Gotham Government Relations said in a statement Tuesday the firm had “ended all affiliation” with Seldowitz. “The video of his actions is vile, racist and beneath the dignity of the standards we practice at our firm,” the statement reads.
“By the way, I’ll represent the food vendor pro bono if he wants to bring a lawsuit against Stuart Seldowitz,” David Schwartz, the founder and president of Gotham Government Relations, told City & State New York. “I’m absolutely outraged by this video.”
Seldowitz, who served under Obama as his acting National Security Council South Asia Directorate chief, was caught on camera by the man operating a halal cart calling the Upper East Side vendor a “terrorist.” The videos on X, formerly known as Twitter, show Seldowitz harassing the vendor on two separate occasions. Seldowitz accuses the vendor of supporting terrorism and Hamas.
“But you’re a terrorist. You support terrorism,” Seldowitz said. “You’re killing little children.”
“You kill children, not me,” the vendor replied.
“If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what? It wasn’t enough,” Seldowitz said.
In another video, the vendor can be heard asking Seldowitz to “please go” and telling him he would call the police.
New Yorkers are lining up at 83rd and 2nd to buy chicken over rice to support Mohamed Hussein, the street vendor who was harassed by Islamaphobic former US State Department official Stuart Seldowitz. You gotta love this city ❤️ pic.twitter.com/uGHiY95Wyh
— Dr. Lucky Tran (@luckytran) November 23, 2023
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Seldowitz also served in the State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, according to the New York Times. A press release from November 2022 stated he was foreign affairs chairman for Gotham Government Relations.
The Hamas attack on Oct. 7 resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people in Israel, and roughly 240 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. More than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war since that day, according to health authorities in Gaza. A temporary ceasefire agreement was reached this week, in which Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day pause to allow for the release of those held in Gaza by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
