Former US official arrested for hate crime after confronting New York halal vendor

New York police have arrested Stuart Seldowitz, a former US State Department official, after he was captured on video calling an Egyptian halal street vendor a terrorist and saying the death of 4,000 Palestinian children "wasn't enough".

Seldowitz, 64, was arrested on charges of aggravated harassment, hate crime stalking, stalking causing fear, and stalking at a place of employment, police said in a statement.

"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," police said, as reported by Reuters.

Three videos have surfaced online in recent days showing Seldowitz launching racist tirades against a New York City food truck vendor. In one of the videos posted on X, Seldowitz threatens a food vendor with deportation back to Egypt and potential torture at the hands of the country’s notorious intelligence services.