Last week, former NFL player Chris Kluwe was detained at a city council meeting in his hometown of Huntington Beach, California, for approaching council members following a fervent speech comparing the Maga movement to Nazism. This occurred following the council’s approval of a plaque celebrating the 50th anniversary of the city library. Inscribed prominently on the plaque are the words “Magical Alluring Galvanizing Adventurous” – an acrostic for Maga.
Kluwe was one of the NFL’s best punters during his time with the Minnesota Vikings in the early 2000s. Throughout his career, he gained recognition not only for criticizing NFL immorality and advocating for civil rights issues such as same-sex marriage and racial equality but also for driving the opposing team back to their own goalline with his powerful right leg.
Retirement hasn’t diminished the fervent rhetoric of the 43-year-old. “Maga represents resegregation and bigotry,” he stated during his council speech. “Maga represents censorship and the prohibition of books. … Maga is deeply corrupt, clearly opposes democracy, and crucially, Maga is overtly a Nazi movement.” You might have swapped a swastika for a red hat, but that’s exactly what it is.
After finishing his speech to applause from the audience, Kluwe moved away from his public platform toward the city council stage and surrendered as police rushed in to take him into custody. He was ultimately charged with a misdemeanor for interrupting a gathering.
“I observed in earlier city council meetings that this city ignores its community,” Kluwe stated in a phone interview two days post-arrest, with his usual dry humor. “They seek attention in order to gain greater power.” However, they are unwilling to engage in the real efforts needed to improve the community.
He thought his booking would be quite simple, but the police detained him for two and a half hours, “because they were waiting for something to charge me with,” he states. “I have a court date in April now, so we’ll find out what occurs.” The ACLU may potentially become involved. A few individuals have mentioned that they intend to contest this because they believe it could be illegal.
Referred to as “the surfing capital of the world,” Huntington Beach is located 40 miles along the coast from Los Angeles in Orange County – the historical heart of conservatism in California. Kluwe, raised in nearby Seal Beach and a resident of Huntington Beach for the last 15 years, has observed the town’s political stance change with the currents. He states, “Skinheads and ‘surf Nazis’ were a recognized element of Huntington Beach.” “However, the government wasn’t exactly that way.” They were traditional. However, it was a small-c, a reluctance to pay taxes or construct new homes conservatism. However, [over the last ten years] you observed the community begin to move further to the left. When I returned here, this was a vibrant beach community, a nice location to reside.
However, in recent years, the community has been pulled back to the right as Maga Republicans have taken control of city politics. The previous city attorney, Michael Gates, resigned from his role this year to become part of Donald Trump’s justice department. Maga candidates dominated the elections last November, securing all seven city council seats in Huntington Beach. Following their triumph, they took photos in city hall while sporting red caps that read “Make Huntington Beach Great Again” and referred to themselves as the “Maga-nificent 7.”
Many individuals believed that Maga would assist them, and they relied on the city council to prioritize their best interests. “They were unaware that this council exists solely to gain notoriety and attempt to ascend in the political hierarchy,” Kluwe states.
One member of the new Maga group is Gracey Van Der Mark, the ex-mayor who secured a city council position in November. As mayor, she led numerous initiatives such as imposing strict voter ID laws, opposing California’s Covid mandates, and removing mentions of hate crimes from the city’s declaration on human dignity. To oversee the city library, she advocated for a resolution establishing a “parental advisory board” to review library books in advance and even contemplated privatizing the library’s functions. Both proposals faced significant opposition from the city’s liberal, independent, and anti-Trump Republican community. The plaque at the library features an uncredited quote: “With hope and change, our country has rebuilt itself to the golden age of Making America Great Again,” combining phrases from the presidential campaigns of Obama, Biden, and Trump. However, the general tone of the tribute clearly indicates whose vision of America is most valued.
“The name of the library is displayed in the tiniest font on the plaque,” Kluwe states. “Thus, for me, it feels like, what exactly are you commemorating?”
It is our responsibility to demonstrate to the world that the 25% of individuals who voted for him do not reflect the views of the American populace.
Kluwe was destined to play a role in the Huntington Beach resistance. In the 2011 NFL lockout, he labeled Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and other prominent players in his union as “greedy douchebags” for allegedly pursuing individual exemptions from the league that undermined a collectively bargained deal. Two years after, Kluwe teamed up with Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo to submit a supreme court amicus brief showing their backing for the challenge against California’s Proposition 8 prohibition on same-sex marriage. After the Vikings released Kluwe in spring 2013, he penned an article for Deadspin blaming his dismissal on his advocacy for same-sex marriage and labeled his positions coach, whom he accused of consistently employing homophobic language, a bigot. (After an extensive internal inquiry lasting several months, the Vikings reached an agreement with Kluwe by contributing a significant amount to organizations that focus on LGBTQ+ issues.)
Upon retiring from football, he championed NFL players’ rights to protest during the social justice movement and openly endorsed Colin Kaepernick. Throughout this time, Kluwe seamlessly shifted into a profession as a memoir writer and science fiction novelist.
However, he claims that the present administration is stranger than fiction, especially when he observed the edited magazine cover of Trump adorned with a crown that appeared on the White House’s official Instagram account. “I can’t imagine anything more deeply un-American than an image of an American president wearing a crown,” he states. “That contradicts everything this nation represents.”
Kluwe wishes that his protest will encourage other worried citizens nationwide to take action and spur Democratic lawmakers specifically to intensify their efforts. “At this moment, the Democratic party is offering nothing to help protect our country,” Kluwe states, having just been on the phone with party officials before switching to speak with me. I inquired if he was keen on running for office himself, but he responded that he was more fascinated by the strength of civil disobedience.
He wishes his opposition to the Huntington Beach city council will serve as a reminder to the world of the numerous Americans who did not support Trump. “These nations have been our friends and partners for many years.” It’s our responsibility to demonstrate to the world that the 25% of individuals who voted for him do not reflect the American populace, nor do they embody the American dream, which is characterized by inclusion, diversity, and respect, both domestically and internationally. “We might not always reach it, but I believe it is an aspiration worth pursuing.”