Ex-Obama Official Arrested, Charged With Hate Crime After Bigoted Rant at Muslim Street Vendor

Stuart Seldowitz was charged with a hate crime after his Islamophobic rants at a New York City food vendor were recorded and went viral online.

Seldowitz, a former National Security Counsel chief to former President Barack Obama, was launched into public infamy this week when he was filmed spewing racist and insulting comments at a man working at a halal food cart. Videos posted online showed that Seldowitz had been accosting the vendor for weeks, and his abusive comments included him calling the vendor a “terrorist,” saying the killing of 4,000 Palestinian children in the Israel-Hamas war “wasn’t enough,” and calling the Islamic prophet Muhammad a “rapist.”

After the media identified Seldowitz, he was disowned and ostracized by his business associates while claiming he made his comments “in the heat of the moment.” He was arrested on Wednesday, and CNN cited the NYPD to report that he faces preliminary charges of hate crime/stalking, second-degree aggravated harassment, stalking causing fear, and stalking at employment.

Islamophobic and anti-Semitic incidents have seen a global spike since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War.