NEW YORK - New York police have taken former Obama administration adviser Stuart Seldowitz into custody after a video circulating online show him allegedly verbally abusing a halal food vendor over his Muslim faith, Sputnik quoted ABC News report.
The police, according to the report, also opened a hate crime probe into the 64-year-old Seldowitz who was caught on video allegedly asking the vendor if he raped his daughter. He also allegedly said, referring to Israel's military operation in Gaza, that the death of 4,000 Palestinian children "wasn’t enough".
After filing a complaint of aggravated harassment over the incident, the report added, Mohammed Hussein, 24, went back to work at his cart.
There were several confrontations at the cart, located on the Upper East side of Manhattan, over the last two weeks amid the Mideast conflict, the report said.
Earlier in the day, Manhattan-based lobbying firm Gotham Government Relations said it had cut all ties with Seldowitz due to the incident, which the firm called "vile and racist".
Seldowitz expressed regret for his comments in a call with ABC, but said there were no threats or intimidation.
Halal cart workers say if Seldowitz is truly sorry, they await a face-to-face apology, the report added.
Seldowitz began his public service career in 1999 at the Department of State where he was dealing with Israeli and Palestinian affairs until 2003. During the Obama administration, he served as the director of the National Security Council.
According to UNICEF, more than 5,300 Palestinian children were killed as a result of massive Israeli bombardments of Gaza while over 850,000 were displaced. - BERNAMA-SPUTNIK
The police, according to the report, also opened a hate crime probe into the 64-year-old Seldowitz who was caught on video allegedly asking the vendor if he raped his daughter. He also allegedly said, referring to Israel's military operation in Gaza, that the death of 4,000 Palestinian children "wasn’t enough".
After filing a complaint of aggravated harassment over the incident, the report added, Mohammed Hussein, 24, went back to work at his cart.
There were several confrontations at the cart, located on the Upper East side of Manhattan, over the last two weeks amid the Mideast conflict, the report said.
Earlier in the day, Manhattan-based lobbying firm Gotham Government Relations said it had cut all ties with Seldowitz due to the incident, which the firm called "vile and racist".
Seldowitz expressed regret for his comments in a call with ABC, but said there were no threats or intimidation.
Halal cart workers say if Seldowitz is truly sorry, they await a face-to-face apology, the report added.
Seldowitz began his public service career in 1999 at the Department of State where he was dealing with Israeli and Palestinian affairs until 2003. During the Obama administration, he served as the director of the National Security Council.
According to UNICEF, more than 5,300 Palestinian children were killed as a result of massive Israeli bombardments of Gaza while over 850,000 were displaced. - BERNAMA-SPUTNIK