Former Obama administration official charged with hate crime after confrontation with NYC food cart vendor

A former Obama administration official has been arrested after he was seen in now-viral videos spewing racist remarks at a food cart vendor.

Stuart Seldowitz, who was acting director for the National Security Council South Asia Directorate from 2009 to 2011, was seen on a video posted to X on Tuesday mocking a halal vendor’s citizenship status, English-speaking skills and Islamic religion.

A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department told Fox News Digital that Seldowitz was arrested and charged with aggravated harassment 2, hate crime/stalking, stalking-cause fear and stalking-at employment.

“A 24-year-old male victim stated to police that an individual approached him at his work place multiple times and made anti-Islamic statements multiple times on different dates causing the victim to feel afraid and annoyed,” the police spokesperson said.

VIRAL VIDEOS SHOW FORMER OBAMA OFFICIAL LAUNCH RACIST RANTS AGAINST NEW YORK CITY FOOD CART VENDOR

“Did you rape your daughter like Muhammad did?” Seldowitz can be seen asking the vendor, referring to the Prophet Muhammad. The vendor responded that he doesn’t speak English, asking Seldowitz to leave.

The former Obama administration official appears to take a picture of the vendor and threatens to send it to “friends in Immigration,” as well as the Mukhabarat, Egypt’s intelligence agency. Seldowitz then said the agency would torture his family by removing their fingernails.

Another video shows Seldowitz asking the vendor on a separate occasion if he has a permit allowing him to sell food on the street and if he has a visa.

When Seldowitz was asked to leave, he appeared to accuse the vendor of supporting Hamas.

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“You support killing young children,” Seldowitz said. 

“You kill children, not me. Go,” the vendor responded.

“I didn’t kill children… If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, it wasn’t enough,” Seldowitz responded.

Seldowitz told City & State he regrets the incident.

“I regret the whole thing happened, and I’m sorry,” Seldowitz said. “But you know, in the heat of the moment, I said things that probably I shouldn’t have said.”

“If I had to do it all over again, I would not have raised the religious aspect,” he said. “I don’t think I’m an Islamophobic guy. … I’ve spoken up for equal treatment of Muslims on numerous occasions with numerous different people.”

Seldowitz was employed as a consultant at New York City-based lobbying group Gotham Government Relations, but has been let go.

“Gotham Government Relations has ended all affiliation with Stuart Seldowitz, an individual who hasn’t contributed to our work in years,” a statement on the firm’s website read. “The video of his actions is vile, racist, and beneath the dignity of the standards we practice at our firm.”