KAMPALA, Uganda -- A 69-year-old American has pleaded not guilty to assault in Uganda after widely circulated video footage showed him punching a hotel worker, using racial insults and threatening to kill him.

Jimmy L. Taylor was arrested earlier this month after the confrontation with a receptionist at a hotel in the capital, Kampala. It was not clear when the confrontation took place.

The footage shows Taylor charging at the receptionist and saying: "You hate Jesus. You hate yourself. You hate me. You disgraced Jesus. Huh?"

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Taylor, who says he is a missionary and military veteran, was granted non-cash bail due to poor health. His next hearing is on Oct. 4.

According to news website UgandaOnline.com, Taylor admitted to local police that he had hit the man at Kampala's Grand Imperial Hotel, but claimed he was driven to the outburst by stress caused by an illness.

A police statement cited by the online news portal said the American national had been charged with "assault and malicious damage."