Ex-State Department official filmed berating food vendor on Islam, immigration and Hamas

A former State Department official and White House adviser was filmed harassing a New York City food vendor and using Islamophobic language, prompting an investigation by the New York Police Department's Hate Crimes Task Force.

Stuart Seldowitz served as acting director for South Asia at the National Security Council under former President Barack Obama and worked in various roles in the U.S. government across decades under multiple presidents, according to government webpages and a biography for a government relations firm he worked with.

The videos have prompted widespread condemnation from state politicians, and caused the government relations firm to cut ties with him.

"Islamophobia is hate. Plain and simple," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. "This vile, disrespectful rhetoric has no home in our city. We reject it – and we're glad to see we're not alone."

The New York Police Department's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating, the police department told USA TODAY on Wednesday.

Seldowitz did not immediately respond to email and text message inquiries from USA TODAY and calls to a phone number listed as his were directed to a full voicemail inbox on Wednesday.

What happened in the videos?

A series of videos filmed from inside a halal food cart show a man berating a food vendor.

The videos were posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, and Seldowitz has told multiple publications he was the person speaking to the vendor. The vendor has not been publicly identified.

In the videos, which appear to be taken on different days because Seldowitz wears different clothes in each, Seldowitz made a slew of derogatory comments to the vendor about the Islamic religion and Egypt. It's not clear what Seldowitz believed the vendor's connection to either Islam or Egypt was.

The beginning of the interactions are not shown on video.

Seldowitz also referenced the Israel-Hamas war, accusing the vendor at one point of being a "terrorist" and saying, "you support terrorism."

"If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what? It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough," Seldowitz said.

During the portions of the encounters on video, the vendor minimally engaged with Seldowitz, asking him to leave. "I'm working now, can you please leave?" the vendor said at one point. Another time the vendor threatened to call the police.

Seldowitz made derogatory comments to the vendor about working in a food cart and not speaking English. He also repeatedly questioned the vendor's immigration status and suggested the vendor would be deported.

Seldowitz told The New York Times that his interactions with the food vendor began after the vendor allegedly expressed support for Hamas. No such comments were included in the recorded videos.

“At that point, I got rather upset and I’ve said things to him, that in retrospect, I probably regret, though – that I do regret," Seldowitz told the outlet. “Instead of focusing in on him and what he said, I expanded into insulting his religion and so on.”

He told the Times that despite his remarks, he is not Islamophobic or prejudiced against Arab people.

MORE:Feds, local officials on high alert as reports of antisemitism, Islamophobia surge

Lobbying firm cuts ties after videos go viral

A New York City-based lobbying firm said it has cut ties with Seldowitz on Tuesday.

"The video of his actions is vile, racist, and beneath the dignity of the standards we practice at our firm," Gotham Government Relations said in a statement posted to social media.

Seldowitz was listed as foreign affairs chair on the firm's website in a since-deleted page accessed through internet archives. Gotham said in its statement this week that Seldowitz had not contributed to the firm's work in years, but a November 2022 press release announced his appointment as foreign affairs chair.

"Mr. Seldowitz has worked on some of the most difficult political, trade, and national security issues facing the United States throughout his career, including relations with Afghanistan, the Middle East, Mexico, and South Africa," his biography on the firm's site said.

Seldowitz was acting director for the National Security Council South Asia Directorate in the early 2000s and received an honor award from the State Department three times, the biography said. The biography said he had served under five presidents, and Seldowitz told The New York Times he'd served during both Democrat and Republican administrations.

He retired from foreign service in 2011, according to a State Department announcement at the time. He told the Times he's not currently employed by the government.

Gotham's president, David Schwartz, said on X he has offered to represent the vendor should he choose to sue Seldowitz.

Videos denounced by politicians as police investigate

The videos also prompted condemnation from a number of New York politicians, including Gov. Kathy Hochul who called Seldowitz's behavior "hateful, disgusting and unacceptable."

Seldowitz has previously worked for the New York state government, according to his biography.

New York City Councilmember Julie Menin said on social media she had contacted NYPD "and they are reviewing these videos."

"This is vile hate speech and harassment and truly abhorrent," Menin said.