Stuart Seldowitz, a former national security adviser to Barack Obama, has been arrested and charged with a hate crime for harassing a halal food vendor in Manhattan with anti-Muslim insults.
The charges include aggravated harassment and stalking, and video evidence confirms the incident.
“The former official, Stuart Seldowitz, 64, faces charges that include aggravated harassment and several counts of stalking, according to the police,” reported the New York Times.
After the videos were released on social media, Gotham Government Relations, the firm where Seldowitz worked, dropped all affiliation with him, calling the video “vile, racist, and beneath the dignity of the standards we practice at our firm.” pic.twitter.com/iUL2C1gNiu
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“The charges were brought after the vendor, whom the police did not name but identified as a 24-year-old man, told the police that a person had approached him several times while he was working and had made Islamophobic comments, causing him to feel ‘afraid and annoyed,’” the Times added.
In the video, Seldowitz says, “If we kill 4,000 [Palestinian] babies, it won’t be enough.”
Seldowitz’s employer, Gotham Government Relations, has severed ties with him.
“Gotham Government Relations has ended all affiliation with Stuart Seldowitz, an individual who hasn’t contributed to our work in years,” it said.
“The video of his actions is vile, racist, and beneath the dignity of the standards we practice at our firm.”
Seldowitz has a history of similar behavior, and he previously served in various roles in the U.S. State Department and the National Security Council.
