MEQUON, Wis. — A Green Party candidate for Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District was arrested for disorderly conduct with a hate crime enhancer following a road rage encounter in Mequon, according to police.
Police say 54-year-old, Matthew Arndt, from Mequon and a 40-year-old male from Mequon were involved in a road rage interaction on Mequon Road, which allegedly included obscene gestures and dangerous driving. Both males entered a parking lot near Mequon Road and Wauwatosa Road, where Arndt used profane language and made anti-Israel statements.
TMJ4 talked to the 40-year-old Mequon man who is from Israel about the encounter. He asked to remain anonymous for his safety.
The man said this started when he was driving his son to school. He says Arndt tailgated him, pulled up next to him, and began yelling at him over an anti-Hamas bumper sticker. He said the sticker was directed at Hamas, not Palestinians.
“It feels terrible. No one wants his kids to be exposed to hate, and this was all it was about. It was hate towards Israel, towards Jews,” the man told TMJ4’s Meryl Hubbard.
The man recorded the encounter and followed Arndt into a Mobil gas station parking lot off Mequon and Wauwatosa Road, where the confrontation continued.
TMJ4 asked why he followed Arndt into the parking lot, the man said:
“It's a good question. You know, I don't. I don't know why. I just could not let this go go past me. You know, I'm an Israeli. I don't think I need to take my head down when someone reacts like this in front of me or my kid.”
Arndt’s comments during the encounter included an abundance of profanity and remarks about Israel.
"That's horrifying to think that someone like this would be representing anyone," he said.
The incident drew reactions from candidates in the race for Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District, as well as the district’s current representative.
Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman said he had not seen the video of Arndt before TMJ4 contacted him.
“Well he’s an embarrassment to the entire state of Wisconsin, and I hope so far as this becomes news, it’s considered aberrant behavior,” Grothman said.
Democratic candidate Brad Smith also responded in a statement to TMJ4 News.
"The vitriol and vulgarity he used, particularly in the presence of a child, is unacceptable."
TMJ4 News reached out to Arndt for comment multiple times but did not receive a response.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Green Party released a statement addressing the incident, saying,
“The Wisconsin Green Party stands firmly for Palestinian human rights and an end to U.S. support for the war in Gaza... Shouting obscenities at someone in a parking lot doesn't advance that cause.”
The party said it has spoken with Arndt and that he plans to address the incident directly.
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