Thursday, October 8, 2026·Focal News

The Milwaukee Focal

Milwaukee's independent voice

Politics

Mequon arrest puts self-described Green Party congressional hopeful under scrutiny

A 54-year-old man who says he is running for Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District seat was arrested Thursday after a road-rage encounter in Mequon that police say involved dangerous driving and obscene gestures. Police listed disorderly conduct with a hate-crime enhancer as the arrest charge; prosecutors will review the case.

Mequon arrest puts self-described Green Party congressional hopeful under scrutiny
A 54-year-old man who identified himself as Matthew Arndt, a Green Party candidate for Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District, was arrested Thursday after a road-rage encounter on Mequon Road, police said. Mequon police said the incident involved “obscene gestures and dangerous driving.” Arndt was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct with a hate-crime enhancer. The district attorney’s office is expected to review the charge; an arrest is not a finding of guilt. Video of the confrontation shows two cars at a gas station, where the man recording asks Arndt if he wants to say something. Arndt shouts profanities, including a slur directed at Israel, and tells the person filming to post the footage online. He also says, “the whole country is against you” and “free Palestine.” The person who recorded the exchange, who spoke anonymously, said he believed it began because of a bumper sticker opposing Hamas. He told local television that the sticker was not directed at Muslims or Palestinians. Arndt has said he is running for Congress in Wisconsin’s 6th District. He had not responded to a request for comment by Thursday afternoon. The available information does not establish whether he has formally qualified for the ballot.

More from The Milwaukee Focal