Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe was arrested on Tuesday for disrupting a city council meeting in Huntington Beach, California, and spoke out against the assembly’s support of President Donald Trump.

According to The Orange County Register, Kluwe, 43, protested against the city’s approval of a plaque in a public library bearing the acronym “MAGA,” which refers to Trump’s “Make America Great Again“ slogan.

‘MAGA is profoundly corrupt’

In a video on X, formerly Twitter, Kluwe approached the lectern during public comment and shared examples of how MAGA has affected marginalized groups and federal agencies.

“MAGA stands for trying to erase trans people from existence. MAGA stands for re-segregation and racism. MAGA stands for censorship and book bans. MAGA stands for firing air traffic controllers while planes are crashing. 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 said during the meeting.

“MAGA is profoundly corrupt, unmistakably anti-democracy, 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,” he concluded.

Kluwe spent four hours in custody after his protest

Kluwe then said he would engage in “peaceful civil disobedience“ and went beyond the lectern to approach the city council member’s bench. Police quickly detained him with handcuffs, and he was escorted out of the room. The former NFL player told the Register he spent four hours in custody before his release.

On Wednesday, he shared with the newspaper his decision to speak out against Trump, his supporters and the city council’s recent decision.

“This was done not with the intention of changing the council’s mind, because I don’t think those minds can be changed,“ Kluwe said. “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.”

The Trump administration and DOGE have cut budget spending in several government agencies

Kluwe’s statement references several of Trump’s executive orders and recent actions that have targeted certain groups and dismissed federal workers.

Blavity reported that the Federal Aviation Administration chief resigned in late January, just days before the deadly collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet at Ronald Raegan International Airport near Washington, D.C.

According to ABC News, Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency have enacted budget cuts by removing federal workers and programs in several government agencies, including the FAA, Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy and U.S. Agency for International Development.

Chris KluweHuntington Beach city councilMinnesota VikingsPresident Donald TrumpProtest