
Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe was arrested on Tuesday for disturbing an assembly during a city council meeting in Huntington Beach, California.
Kluwe was protesting Huntington Beach’s approval of a public library plaque that was designed to use words that spelled out “MAGA.” MAGA is the acronym and slogan that President Donald Trump has used for his throughout his political campaigns.
In a video from the city council meeting, Kluwe began his protest by reading a statement in which he called MAGA “a Nazi movement,” and ultimately stated that he would participate in “peaceful civil disobedience” as a form of protest. He was speaking at a podium before he left that spot and approached the city council members’ bench.
Upon doing so, Kluwe was removed in handcuffs by police and carried out of the room in which the meeting was taking place.
“MAGA stands for trying to erase trans people from existence. MAGA stands for re-segregation and racism. MAGA stands for censorship and book bans,” Kluwe said during the incident. “MAGA stands for firing air traffic controllers while planes are crashing. MAGA stands for firing the people overseeing our nuclear arsenal, causing catastrophic failures.”
In an interview with the Orange County Register, Kluwe revealed that he was detained for four hours in custody before being released.
Kluwe, 43, served as a punter in the NFL for eight seasons between 2005 and 2012.