Wisconsin congressional candidate charged with disorderly conduct
Matthew Arndt, a Green Party candidate running for Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District seat, captured on video in profanity-filled tirade over Israel.
MEQUON - A candidate for Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District has been charged in connection with an alleged road rage incident in Mequon. The incident included a profanity-laden tirade over Israel that was caught on video.
Online court records show Matthew Arndt is facing one count of disorderly conduct. He is due in court on Nov. 3 for his initial appearance.
Mequon investigation
The backstory:
It happened at around 8:50 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 8. Mequon police responded to a report of a road rage and disorderly conduct incident that happened at the Mobil Gas Station at the corner of Mequon and Wauwatosa roads.
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Full interview: Arndt addresses incident
FOX6 News spoke to Matthew Arndt after the congressional candidate was caught on video shouting obscenities about Israel at a person. He was later arrested.
The initial investigation revealed that a 54-year-old man from Mequon and a 40-year-old man from Mequon were involved in a road rage interaction on Mequon Road, which allegedly included obscene gestures and dangerous driving. Both men entered the gas station parking lot, where police said the 54-year-old man used profane language and made anti-Semitic statements.
FOX6 News later confirmed that the man shouting the obscenities was 54-year-old Matthew Arndt, a Green Party candidate for Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District. He was later arrested for disorderly conduct with a hate crime enhancer.
Wisconsin congressional candidate arrested, tirade over Israel
A candidate for Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District was arrested after he was caught on video shouting obscenities about Israel at a person.
‘F*** Israel’
What they're saying:
The interaction at the gas station was caught on video.
"I'm running for Congress here in the 6th District, and f*** Israel. Go f*** yourself," Arndt is heard saying in the video. "The whole country's against you, you piece of s***."
Arndt also shouted "free Palestine." The man who took the video said he thinks a bumper sticker – which reads "F*** Hamas" with the flag of Israel in place of two letters – on his car is what triggered it all.
FOX6 News edited the video for profanity; you can watch it in full below.
Wisconsin congressional candidate arrested, tirade over Israel
A candidate for Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District was arrested after he was caught on video shouting obscenities about Israel at a person in a gas station parking lot.
The Source: Information in this story is from Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, the Mequon Police Department, the Wisconsin Green Party and FOX6 News interviews.