Shock as congressional hopeful faces possible hate crime charge after anti-Israel outburst

Critics were left stunned Saturday after learning that Green Party congressional candidate Matthew Arndt of Wisconsin may face a hate crime enhancement after launching into an anti-Israel tirade during a suspected road rage incident.

“This is a blatant [First Amendment] violation,” argued Jenin Younes, a former public defender and civil liberties attorney, in a social media post on X published Saturday.

Arndt and an unidentified man were involved in a suspected road rage incident “which included obscene gestures and dangerous driving,” WISN 12 News reported, citing police officials. The unidentified man admitted to following Arndt into a gas station, but claimed Arndt was the initial aggressor and had tailgated his vehicle.

“Right when he got the chance to get ahead of me, he drove next to me, opened his window and cursed (expletive) Israel and (expletive) the Jews,” the man told WISN 12 News, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Police also claimed Arndt “made antisemitic statements,” according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

In a statement published on Saturday, Arndt “categorically” denied “making antisemitic statements,” but did admit to criticizing the Israeli government, insisting that such criticism was “not hatred of Jewish people.”

A portion of the incident was captured on video by the unidentified man, in which Arndt can be heard shouting, “you’re a piece of s---, a f------ traitor, f--- you, f--- Israel, go f--- yourself!”

Wisconsin adopted a specific definition of antisemitism into state law earlier this year, requiring officials to consider it when weighing hate crime enhancements. If prosecutors pursue a disorderly conduct charge, the enhancement could land Arndt in jail for up to one year.

The definition is known as the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, or IHRA, which has proved controversial among some critics, including a number of progressive Jewish organizations, who claim the definition conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism in some instances.

“Wisconsin incorporated the IHRA definition of antisemitism into its hate speech and various other laws earlier this year. So now a congressional candidate is being charged with a hate crime for saying ‘f--- Israel,’” Younes wrote.

Journalist Ryan Grim, the co-founder of Drop Site News, expressed similar concerns.

“Yeah this is constitutionally protected speech. Or at least it used to be,” Grim wrote Saturday in a social media post on X.