Matthew Arndt, the Green Party candidate for Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District, was arrested on October 8, 2026, after a road-rage confrontation in Mequon that police treated as disorderly conduct with a hate-crime enhancer.
The incident began on Mequon Road when Arndt, a 54-year-old Mequon resident, had an altercation with another driver, a roughly 40-year-old Israeli father who had his young son in the car. The other driver's vehicle had an anti-Hamas bumper sticker that included an Israeli flag. Both drivers ended up in a nearby gas-station parking lot — the Mobil station at the corner of Mequon and Wauwatosa roads, where police were called around 8:50 a.m.
The father recorded the encounter. In the video, Arndt is heard yelling profanities, calling the man a traitor, and repeatedly saying "f*** Israel" and similar phrases. He also identified himself while daring the other driver to post the footage, stating he was running for Congress in the 6th District and adding "f*** Israel." Police described the language as including antisemitic statements.
The father, an Israeli immigrant who has lived in the United States for about 12 years, told reporters he was driving his son to school when Arndt pulled alongside, cursed at him, flipped him off, and nearly pushed him out of his lane. He followed Arndt into the gas station and started filming. "I have an Israeli flag sticker with 'F–k Hamas,'" he said, "and I guess that really pissed off the guy behind me."
Arndt was arrested Thursday evening. The case was referred to the Ozaukee County District Attorney for a charging decision. Under Wisconsin law, a hate-crime enhancer can raise a disorderly conduct misdemeanor to a penalty of up to a $10,000 fine and a year in jail — but police stress that an arrest is not a formal charge, and the DA's review is still pending.
He later said his comments targeted the government of Israel — consistent with his campaign position of cutting U.S. ties with Israel — rather than Jewish people, and that he mishandled the confrontation while maintaining the substance of his view. "I messed up," he told FOX6, but "the message stands."
His own party condemned the outburst. The Wisconsin Green Party's Coordinating Council said shouting obscenities in a parking lot "doesn't advance that cause," while reaffirming its position on Palestinian rights. It did not pull his nomination.
Arndt, a certified public accountant and investment adviser, is running on a platform — his campaign site is titled "End the Cartel" — that calls for breaking up monopolies, Medicare for All, and severing U.S. ties with Israel. The seat is currently held by Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman; Democrat Brad Smith called the outburst unacceptable, especially with a child present. The Milwaukee Jewish Federation condemned Arndt's "hateful and intimidating behavior."
The November 3 ballot also includes independents Mike Thurow and Elizabeth Fitzgibbon. The voters of Wisconsin's 6th District will have the final word on whether a candidate who screams at a father in a gas station belongs in Congress.
