HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – Former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe was arrested after making a fiery speech at Wednesday night’s Huntington Beach, California City Council meeting trying to sit in front of council members to “engage in the time-honored American tradition of civil disobedience.”
Kluwe was protesting the council’s approval of a plaque commemorating the 50th anniversary of the city’s Central Library. Part of the plaque says “Magical, Alluring, Galvanizing and Adventurous” which spells out MAGA.
“MAGA is profoundly corrupt, unmistakably antidemocracy and most importantly, MAGA is explicably a Nazi movement. You may have replaced a swastika with a red hat, but that is what it is,” Kluwe said at the meeting.
Kluwe, who holds 14 Vikings punting records and is a member of the Vikings All Mall of America Field Team, was released four hours after his arrest. He was released by Minnesota in 2013. Kluwe believes it was because of his outspoken views supporting gay marriage.
