"Anti-Semitic Elmo" Handcuffed, Removed By Ambulance From New York's Central Park Share

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A man who haunts Central Park dressed as Elmo, the lovable Sesame Street character, was handcuffed by New York City cops yesterday and whisked away in an ambulance after he launched into one of his trademark anti-Semitic rants.

The unidentified man, who police say was not arrested, was removed from the vicinity of the Central Park Zoo, where he has alternately posed for photos with park visitors, screamed curses, and launched into diatribes about assorted Jewish conspiracies.

For instance, last week the man was filmed loudly complaining that he was not making money because “the Jewish cops” were harassing him. He also suggested that parkgoers read “The International Jew,” a notorious series of anti-Semitic pamphlets distributed about 90 years ago by the auto magnate Henry Ford.

He can also be heard referring to Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) at the outset of the above clip.

“If you start your own business in this city, Jews will harass you,” the man announced. As her friend videotaped enraged Elmo, a young woman remarked, “That is the scariest Elmo I’ve ever seen in my life. Oh my God.”

After having his Elmo head removed, the costumed, middle-aged man was placed into an ambulance and apparently brought to New York-Presbyterian Hospital for observation.