MEQUON, Wis. (VINnews) — A Green Party candidate for Congress in Wisconsin was arrested Thursday after police said he made antisemitic statements during a road-rage confrontation with a father who was driving his young son to school.

Matthew Arndt, 54, a certified public accountant and investment adviser from Mequon, is the Green Party nominee in the 6th Congressional District. Mequon police said officers were called at about 8:50 a.m. to a report of road rage and disorderly conduct on Mequon Road between Granville Road and Wauwatosa Road.

Investigators said two Mequon men, ages 54 and 40, were involved in an encounter that included obscene gestures and dangerous driving. Both then pulled into a parking lot near Mequon and Wauwatosa roads, where police said the 54-year-old used profane language and made antisemitic statements. Arndt was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct with a hate crime enhancer. Police said reports will be sent to the Ozaukee County district attorney for a charging decision. An arrest is not a formal charge.

The other driver recorded part of the parking-lot exchange. In the video, Arndt curses at the man, calls him a traitor, denounces Israel and the “Israel lobby,” and shouts “Free Palestine.” He also identifies himself as a candidate, telling the man to post the footage and saying he is running for Congress in the 6th District.

The man who filmed the encounter told reporters he believes the outburst was set off by a bumper sticker on his car that disparages Hamas and includes an Israeli flag. He said he was taking his son to school, that the other driver pulled alongside him, cursed and gestured, and that he hung back because his child was in the car before photographing the plate and following the vehicle to the gas station. He told the New York Post he is an Israeli immigrant who has lived in the United States for about 12 years, and that the sticker was aimed at Hamas, which the U.S. government designates a terrorist organization.

Under Wisconsin law, a hate-crime enhancer can apply when a person intentionally selects a victim because of a belief or perception about that person’s race, religion, national origin or ancestry, whether or not the belief is correct. On a misdemeanor such as disorderly conduct, the enhancer raises the maximum penalty to a $10,000 fine and one year in jail.

Arndt later told FOX6 Milwaukee that he “messed up,” while insisting “the message stands.” He said his words were aimed at the government of Israel, not at Jewish people, and that he would represent constituents of every faith if elected. He also said the other driver followed him.

The Wisconsin Green Party’s Coordinating Council said it had seen the video and still supports Palestinian rights and an end to U.S. backing for the war in Gaza, but that cursing at someone in a parking lot does not advance that cause. The council said Arndt told party leaders he would address the incident, and that it would wait for the police report before commenting further.

Democrat Brad Smith, who is also seeking the seat, said he was disappointed and called the language unacceptable, especially with a child present. Republican incumbent Glenn Grothman is seeking reelection. The general election is Nov. 3.

Arndt, a Green Bay native who runs his own tax and investment firm, has campaigned on breaking up monopolies, Medicare for All and ending what he calls forever wars. In a candidate questionnaire, he wrote that he would not compromise on ending U.S. weapons support for Israel’s wars. His campaign site also says politics that teaches hate is poison and that Americans of every faith, including Jews and Muslims, belong in the country.

Police asked anyone who witnessed the driving or has video of it to call the Mequon Police Department at 262-242-3500.