The man who allegedly assaulted and tried to kidnap renowned author Elie Wiesel has been arrested in New Jersey: Eric Hunt arrested in Wiesel attack. (Hat tip: zombie.)

(02-17) 13:09 PST SAN FRANCISCO — The man accused of trying to kidnap Holocaust author and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel outside a San Francisco hotel earlier this month was arrested today in New Jersey.

Montgomery Township police confirmed that 22-year-old Eric Hunt was arrested at 10:30 a.m. PST. He faces charges of attempted kidnapping, false imprisonment, elder abuse, stalking, battery and the commission of a hate crime.

San Francisco police say Hunt confronted Wiesel, 78, in an elevator at the Argent Hotel on Feb. 1 during an interfaith conference and pulled him out on the sixth floor. Wiesel began screaming and his assailant fled. Police said they found Hunt’s car in the hotel’s parking garage, and Wiesel told The Chronicle that his assailant fled so quickly that the assailant left his wallet and driver’s license in the car.

On Feb. 6, a man identifying himself as Hunt posted a detailed account of the attack on several anti-Semitic and anti-Israel Web sites. That account matched a description of the attack police provided a few days later. In that post, Hunt said he cornered Wiesel, the author of more than 40 books based on his Holocaust experiences, in order to force him into admitting that the Holocaust never occurred.

Hunt’s father, Frank Hunt, 49, said his son called Feb. 9 and asked to be picked up at a bus station in Scranton, Pa., explaining that his car was in the shop. The elder Hunt said his son, whom he had not seen in 11 years, acted strangely, appeared disheveled and did not carry luggage.

Previously at LGF:
Holocaust ‘Truther’ Attacks Elie Wiesel