Matthew Arndt was arrested in Mequon after a Thursday morning road rage incident that police tied to a profanity-filled video about Israel. He later told FOX6 News he “messed up” and said “the message stands.”
Mequon police responded at about 8:50 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, to a report of road rage and disorderly conduct at the Mobil Gas Station at the corner of Mequon and Wauwatosa roads. Police said the incident involved a 54-year-old man from Mequon and a 40-year-old man from Mequon, and that both entered the gas station parking lot after the confrontation on Mequon Road.
Mequon Road confrontation
Police said the interaction included obscene gestures and dangerous driving before it moved into the gas station lot. There, the 54-year-old man used profane language and made anti-Semitic statements, according to police. FOX6 News later identified that man as Matthew Arndt, a Green Party candidate for Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District.
The video captured Arndt saying, “I'm running for Congress here in the 6th District, and f*** Israel. Go f*** yourself.” He also shouted, “The whole country's against you, you piece of s***,” and “free Palestine.” The video was recorded by the other man involved in the encounter, who said he believed a bumper sticker on his car helped trigger the confrontation.
Matthew Arndt and FOX6 News
Arndt later told FOX6 News, “This attack isn't directed at Jewish people. This attack was directed at the country of Israel. Everybody has equal rights in this country. Doesn't matter if you're Christian, Jewish, Muslim, unaffiliated, Hindu, whatsoever. Everybody has the same constitutional rights. If I were to win this district, I will stand up for everybody. I will represent Jewish people. I will represent Muslims, Christians, the unaffiliated. They all get equal protection under the law. This is not what this is about. I am not anti-anyone. I am anti-Israel, and I am anti the Israel government.” He also said, “I attacked the nation of Israel. I did not attack this person.”
After the arrest, Arndt issued an apology for his behavior and said he “messed up” but “the message stands.” Police arrested him on disorderly conduct with a hate crime enhancer, turning the case from a public confrontation into a charge that carries the added allegation attached to the arrest.
The unanswered issue is what specific conduct led police to apply the hate crime enhancer, beyond the video and the statements that followed it.
