A Mequon gas station turned into the scene of a political firestorm Thursday when Matthew Arndt, the Green Party candidate for Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District, was arrested following a road-rage confrontation that police say included profane, antisemitic language. A driver recorded part of the exchange, and the footage quickly spread online, showing Arndt cursing Israel before telling the man to post it on social media because, he said, he was running for Congress.
Police described the incident as a road-rage encounter that included obscene gestures and dangerous driving, according to WISN. The driver who recorded the exchange told the station that Arndt drove next to him, opened his window and cursed Israel and Jews. He said he believed a bumper sticker on his car — bearing the Israeli flag alongside a profane anti-Hamas message — is what set Arndt off, and that his own community lost more than 100 people in the Hamas-led attack on Israel three years ago.
Accounts differ on who escalated the confrontation first. The recording driver claimed Arndt was the aggressor, tailgating his vehicle and weaving between lanes before pulling alongside him, per the same account. Arndt, for his part, told NBC26 that he was followed, harassed and repeatedly provoked until he finally lost his patience. The driver has acknowledged he followed Arndt into a Mobil gas station parking lot, where the confrontation continued and was captured on video.
What Police Allege and What Arndt Says He Meant
Police arrested Arndt on suspicion of disorderly conduct with a hate-crime enhancer, WISN reports. Wisconsin's disorderly conduct statute makes it a Class B misdemeanor to engage in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances tending to cause or provoke a disturbance, according to state law published by the Wisconsin Legislature. The arrest allegation also included a hate-crime enhancer.
Arndt told FOX6, as reported by Wisconsin Right Now, that his words were aimed at the nation and government of Israel, not at Jewish people. He said he is not pro-Hamas or pro-Hezbollah, and that if elected he would represent Muslims, Christians, Jewish people, unaffiliated Hindus and others equally. He accused Israel of violating international law and conducting genocide, and said people are being illegally expelled from the West Bank, while adding that his stance on Israel is unpopular with a certain subsection of people.
Candidate Concedes Tone, Not Message
Arndt conceded that his only mistake was not delivering a calmer message, and said he can apologize for losing his composure but will not apologize for demanding that the United States remain a sovereign nation, according to the NBC26 account. He said he plans to continue fighting for the children of Gaza and Palestine. He also said he would fight any charges filed against him. WISN reported that he argued his statements were protected by the First Amendment.
The Ozaukee County District Attorney's Office had not decided whether to file charges as of Thursday and was expected to receive investigative reports in the coming days, Wisconsin Right Now reports. The confrontation happened one day after the third anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Rivals and Party Leaders React
Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, who holds the 6th District seat and is seeking reelection, called Arndt an embarrassment to the entire state of Wisconsin, per NBC26. Democratic candidate Brad Smith said the vitriol and vulgarity Arndt used, particularly in the presence of a child, is unacceptable. The 6th District also includes independent candidates Mike Thurow and Elizabeth Fitzgibbon, and covers all or parts of 11 counties stretching from Ozaukee to Winnebago, according to the Post-Crescent.
The Wisconsin Green Party Coordinating Council condemned Arndt's conduct in the video, saying cursing at someone in a parking lot does nothing to advance the cause of Palestinian human rights, which the party says it continues to support. Arndt has cited breaking up monopolies and supporting Medicare for All among his priorities. The race is set for Nov. 3.
