A former football player for the Minnesota Vikings was arrested Tuesday during a meeting of the Huntington Beach City Council.
Chris Kluwe was at the meeting to protest a new plaque honoring the public library’s 50th anniversary. The plaque includes the acronym “MAGA,” which stands for Donald Trump’s slogan, Make America Great Again.
In his comments before the city council, Kluwe called MAGA “profoundly corrupt,” anti-democratic, and an “explicitly a Nazi movement.”
When he was finished speaking, Kluwe announced that he would “now engage in the time-honored American tradition of peaceful civil disobedience.” He began approaching the dais.
Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark said it was frightening to watch the man approach members of the council. Police quickly swung into action, placing handcuffs on Kluwe and escorting him out of the chambers.
The former NFL player did not resist arrest. He placed his hands behind his back and announced he was “going to stay limp,” forcing officers to carry him out.
Kluwe told the Los Angeles Times that he was held in the local jail for four hours, and cited for disrupting an assembly.
“He wanted his five minutes of fame, and that’s what he got,” Van Der Mark said.
The Huntington Beach City Council has made a name for itself as the most outspoken pro-MAGA council in the Golden State. As of December, all five of its members are Republicans.