The Wisconsin Green Party said Thursday that a profane parking-lot outburst by its candidate for Congress does not advance the party’s position on Palestinian rights but refused to fully disavow his comments or pull its support from him.
Matthew Arndt, 54, the Green Party nominee in Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of disorderly conduct with a hate crime enhancer, Mequon police said. The arrest followed a morning confrontation at a gas station in the Milwaukee suburb.
The Heartland Post obtained and published video of the exchange, in which Arndt identifies himself as a candidate and shouts obscenities directed at Israel and “the Israeli lobby.” In the footage he tells the other driver to post the recording, says he is running for Congress in the 6th District, and shouts “Free Palestine.” Police described the statements as antisemitic. An arrest is not a conviction, and authorities had not announced formal charges.
The other driver, whom The Heartland Post did not name, told reporters he was taking his young son to school and that the dispute began in traffic after Arndt reacted to an anti-Hamas bumper sticker on his vehicle. Both men later pulled into the gas station.
In a statement, a Wisconsin Green Party spokesperson said: “The Wisconsin Green Party stands firmly for Palestinian human rights and an end to U.S. support for the war in Gaza. Shouting obscenities at someone in a parking lot doesn’t advance that cause. We’ve spoken with Matthew and he said he will address this directly. The Coordinating Council will wait for the police report before commenting further on what happened.”
Arndt later told FOX6 Milwaukee that he “messed up” but that “the message stands.” He said his remarks were aimed at the government of Israel, not at Jewish people, and that if elected he would represent constituents of every faith. He also said the other driver followed him.
Arndt, a certified public accountant and investment adviser from Mequon, is a first-time candidate. He is one of several challengers to Republican incumbent Rep. Glenn Grothman in the Nov. 3 election, along with Democrat Brad Smith and independents Mike Thurow and Elizabeth Fitzgibbon. Smith said he was disappointed by the language, particularly because a child was present.
Arndt’s campaign calls for ending U.S. support for Israel, along with Medicare for All and breaking up monopolies. His campaign site also says politics that sets Americans against one another is “poison.”
