Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe was arrested on Tuesday during a Huntington Beach, California, city council meeting after delivering a speech in which he compared the MAGA movement to the Nazi party.
The former Minnesota Vikings player joined other local residents in protesting a newly installed plaque at the city’s public library. Critics argued that the inscription—featuring the words “Magical,” “Alluring,” “Galvanizing,” and “Adventurous”—subtly promoted MAGA ideology, turning it into a political statement.
During his address to the council, Kluwe did not hold back in expressing his strong opposition to what he believes MAGA represents, particularly in the final years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
“MAGA stands for trying to erase trans people from existence. MAGA stands for resegregation and racism. MAGA stands for censorship and book bans. MAGA stands for firing air traffic controllers while planes are crashing,” Kluwe stated.
He continued, “MAGA stands for firing the people overseeing our nuclear arsenal. MAGA stands for firing military veterans and those serving them at the VA, including canceling research on veteran suicide. MAGA stands for cutting funds to education, including for disabled children.”
Kluwe concluded his speech by making a direct comparison: “MAGA is profoundly corrupt, unmistakably antidemocracy, and, most importantly, MAGA is explicitly a Nazi movement. You may have replaced a swastika with a red hat, but that is what it is.”
Following his remarks, Kluwe approached the council floor in what he described as an act of “peaceful civil disobedience.” However, law enforcement officers quickly intervened, restraining him on the ground, handcuffing him, and escorting him from the meeting. He was cited and released after spending four hours in custody, according to the New York Post.
Kluwe played in the NFL from 2005 to 2013, spending eight seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. After his departure, he claimed in an op-ed that the team let him go due to his vocal support for same-sex marriage—a claim the Vikings denied.
