Green Party congressional candidate Matthew Arndt has been charged with disorderly conduct after an alleged road-rage confrontation in Mequon, Wisconsin, during which he was filmed shouting profanities about Israel.
The 54-year-old is accused of confronting another driver at a Mobil petrol station at the junction of Mequon and Wauwatosa roads on the morning of October 8. The encounter was partly recorded on video and later reviewed by police.
According to court records, the other driver told investigators that Arndt had been following too closely before the pair exchanged obscene gestures on Mequon Road. Both vehicles then entered the petrol station car park.
The driver, who was travelling with his five-year-old son, said Arndt shouted profanities about Israel from his vehicle. He told police he believed the confrontation was linked to a bumper sticker on his car condemning Hamas and featuring an Israeli flag.
Candidate says he felt targeted
Arndt gave a different account during an interview with Mequon police, saying the other driver had repeatedly braked in front of him before following him into the car park and beginning to record.
“I was heated because I was emotionally upset,” Arndt told officers, according to the recording. He said he believed he had been targeted because of his political views and previous public comments about Israel.
“I have a feeling he went out of his way this morning to try to track me, possibly follow me, or where my kids were,” Arndt said.
The other man told police he did not know Arndt was a congressional candidate and believed he had been targeted because of the bumper sticker. He acknowledged following Arndt into the station and said he should not have done so.
Arndt was later arrested and charged with one count of disorderly conduct. The charge is a misdemeanour carrying a possible maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
His initial court appearance is scheduled for November 3, the date of Wisconsin’s general election.
The Wisconsin Green Party has continued to support Arndt, saying his opposition to the Israeli government’s actions should not be equated with hostility towards Jewish people. The party said he supports ending US military aid for the war in Gaza, a permanent ceasefire and Palestinian self-determination.
