LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- They may look happy now, but Jack Arnold says seeing his two granddaughters smile is no longer normal, ever since Jeff Greiss allegedly began harassing him and his family.
Jack Arnold says, "My daughter is not sleeping. She's having nightmares. I'm having extreme nightmares."
Arnold and his family are Messianic Jews, a religious movement that differs from mainstream Christianity and from Judaism by combining elements of each into a single faith.
They say Jeff Greiss, known as Brother Jeff throughout the community, has harassed them for years because of their religious beliefs. Candice Arnold, Jack’s daughter, says "I have been told to repent, that I'm a Jewish [expletive]. I've been told that I'm going to hell."
They say the harassment didn't stop there, but escalated to a physical assault. Arnold says Greiss jabbed a sharp stick through his car window, cutting his head, just above his eye. Jack Arnold says "I truly believe down deep that he wishes to kill this family."
The Arnold's have now filed a lawsuit against Griess and against the City of Radcliff. For the past 24 years, Greiss has been working for the city, maintaining roads. WHAS tried to speak to Greiss, but neighbors tell us he ran out of his house as soon as our car pulled up at his home. He was recently fired from his job, but a city spokesperson says it has nothing to do with these allegations.
Bryce Shumate says "He was not performing his job assignment as it was assigned and therefore, he no longer works for the city of Radcliff." While the Arnolds say they're happy that Greiss is no longer employed by the city, they are now making sure this doesn't happen to anyone else.
Candice Arnold says "If people who go through these things, like my dad and my family, don't stand up, it's going to continue to happen."
