Police in South Padre Island, Texas, on Thursday confirmed that they arrested a Waterford man earlier this month, while a video that appears to show him yelling expletives at a Muslim family on a beach, repeatedly referring to President Donald Trump and sharia law, has gone viral.

Thirty-five-year-old Alexander Jennes Downing, whose last known address was 27 Quinley Way, was charged May 3 with public intoxication after the tirade. Captured on a video that Noria Alward uploaded to YouTube on May 5, Downing’s rant was picked up and verified by BuzzFeed News and has gone viral.

In a description under the video, Alward wrote that she and her family were enjoying the beach near the Pearl South Padre hotel during a family reunion when an “insane man” approached.

Over the course of the five-and-a-half-minute video, Downing stalks back and forth, sometimes getting in the faces of family members while other times beating his chest from afar.

Downing can be heard yelling about how sharia law — a framework meant to guide Muslims toward living Islamic lives — “don’t mean (expletive) to me.” He yells “Donald Trump will stop you” and brings up how ISIS, or the Islamic State, also doesn’t mean anything to him.

At one point, Downing comes close to the camera and screams, “My country is the greatest country in the world.”

A message left at the phone number Downing provided to police was not immediately returned.

According to Alward, the confrontation began when her father, whom two women had asked for help, approached Downing and politely told him to leave the women alone.

Alward said Downing launched and continued his rant in front of her 4-year-old cousin and two of her nephews, who are 4 and 2. He also grabbed his crotch in front of the children, which is something the family believes warrants an additional charge of indecent exposure.

Police arrested Downing, who eventually left on his own, at the hotel’s restaurant.

According to Alward's uncle, Ahmed, 13 family members were present during the incident. In an email Thursday afternoon, Ahmed said he has never encountered anything close to what happened to him and his family May 3.

"This man only represents himself ONLY," Ahmed wrote. "This man, to me, doesn't represent the people of South Padre Island, the people of Texas or the people of the great country we all love, America."

Ahmed said he has no idea what prompted Downing to start yelling about his family members being Muslims, but he was "absolutely shocked" by it. 

"The terror and extremism he exhibited in front of our kids," Ahmed began. "His claim that America is his. To me, America and American values are way far from his actions."

Ahmed said he has found solace in the responses he has received from the public so far — positive responses he said "exhibit our American values."

In Texas, a person is charged with public intoxication if he appears in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that he may endanger himself or others. The offense is listed as a Class C misdemeanor.

Connecticut court records show Downing was convicted of three crimes in 2010: possession of a controlled substance or less than 4 ounces of marijuana, sixth-degree larceny and second-degree breach of peace. The charges stemmed from three separate incidents in New London and Waterford.

According to police, the 27 Quinley Way address is what was listed on Downing's driver's license.

A Facebook page that apparently belonged to Downing showed him as living in Houston. It appears to have been deleted.

Those wishing to watch the video can find it at http://bit.ly/2ppKeUA. It contains explicit language.

l.boyle@theday.com