Ex-NFL Player Chris Kluwe Arrested for Protesting MAGA Library Plaque at City Council Meeting
(Neil Bedi/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Police in Huntington Beach, California, arrested former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe after he voiced his opposition at a city council meeting against a library plaque referencing President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.
Kluwe’s arrest occurred on Tuesday after he concluded his timed remarks to the all-Republican city council. He then stepped forward in what he described as an act of “peaceful civil disobedience.” Kluwe, an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and a vocal Trump critic was among several residents at the meeting who denounced the plaque as a “propaganda statement,” according to the New York Post.
A widely circulated video captures Kluwe delivering his speech before law enforcement officers swiftly intervened, subduing the eight-year Vikings veteran and carrying him out by his arms and legs. “Unfortunately, it’s clear that this council doesn’t listen, so instead I’m gonna take my time to say what MAGA has stood for these past three weeks,” Kluwe told council members.
“MAGA stands for trying to erase trans people from existence. MAGA stands for resegregation and racism. MAGA stands for censorship and book bans.” Kluwe continued, saying: “MAGA is profoundly corrupt, unmistakably anti-democracy, and is explicitly a Nazi movement. You may have replaced a swastika with a red hat, but that’s what it is.”
As the audience behind him erupted into cheers, Kluwe announced his intention to “engage in the time-honored American tradition of peaceful civil disobedience.” A council member was heard shouting “Get out!” as Kluwe was arrested and escorted out while some attendees cheered in support.
Kluwe, a Philadelphia native, “was cited and released after he spent four hours in custody on Tuesday,” the New York Post reported. Following his release, he told the OC Register that his protest was aimed more at raising public awareness than at persuading the city council.
“This was done not with the intention of changing the council’s mind, because I don’t think those minds can be changed,” Kluwe told the publication. “It was done so that people who are watching and people who will watch understand that this is important enough to get arrested for. That it’s important to stand up and speak truth to power and to do so in a way that other people can emulate.”
