Matthew Arndt, a Green Party candidate for Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District, was arrested after a video-captured confrontation in Mequon turned into a profanity-filled tirade over Israel. Police said the disorderly conduct case included a hate crime enhancer.
Mequon police were called at around 8:50 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, to the Mobil Gas Station at the corner of Mequon and Wauwatosa roads after a road rage report on Mequon Road. Officers said a 54-year-old man and a 40-year-old man, both from Mequon, had been involved in an interaction that included obscene gestures and dangerous driving before both entered the parking lot.
FOX6 News later identified the man shouting obscenities as Arndt. On video, he said, “I'm running for Congress here in the 6th District, and f*** Israel. Go f*** yourself,” then added, “The whole country's against you, you piece of s***,” before shouting “free Palestine.” The man who recorded the exchange said he believed a bumper sticker reading “F*** Hamas” with the flag of Israel in place of two letters had set it off.
Arndt agreed to speak about the incident and said his words were aimed at the country of Israel, not Jewish people. He said, “This attack isn't directed at Jewish people. This attack was directed at the country of Israel,” and added, “I attacked the nation of Israel. I did not attack this person.” He also said, “I've said that to probably other people when I've got into altercation,” before apologizing and saying he “messed up,” even as he said “the message stands.”
That split matters because police said the remarks were anti-Semitic, while Arndt tried to draw a line between his criticism of Israel and the people standing in front of him. The case now sits at the point where politics, public anger and criminal charges meet, with a congressional candidate under arrest and a hate crime enhancer attached to the charge.
What remains unanswered in the public record is the exact basis police used for that enhancer. But the arrest itself is the immediate fact, and it leaves Arndt facing the most damaging kind of scrutiny for a candidate: not just for what he believes, but for what he said when he thought the cameras were on or the argument was already too far gone.
