Apologies and explanations are now coming from the 23-year-old (now fired) catering hall waiter who played Arabic chants over the PA system during a Jewish wedding. Stephen Buttafuoco, who attends Queens College, told reporters, "The actions I took were not very well thought through, but they were definitely not meant to be malicious in any way, shape or form," and apologized for any "fear or harm" he caused. He added, "I feel horrible." more ›

Newsday reports that Nassau County police arrested Stephen Buttafuoco, 23, who "interrupted the celebration's final prayers with recorded Arabic chants of 'God is great'" last week. That chant "spark[ed] fear among the 700 guests of a terrorist attack." Buttafuoco, a waiter for the wedding's catering company at the Woodbury Jewish Center (natch, he was fired), recorded the chants—"Allahu Akbar"— from the January 3 pro-Palestine rally in NYC and then played them over the PA system. He was charged with aggravated harassment; a grand jury will decide whether to charge him with disruption of a religious service. His lawyer, who suggested his client might be rebelling against his pro-Israel church preacher father, told Newsday the charges were harsh but added, "On the other hand, I can understand the concern of the members of Jewish community who were at this wedding." We'll wait for the newlyweds and/or Woodbury Jewish Center suing the catering company. more ›