Santa Claus surprised his arrest at Ontario Walmart protest went viral

Source: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.儲存倉Jan. 06--CLAREMONT -- Karl Hilgert, who was arrested outside of a Walmart Superstore during Black Friday dressed as Santa Claus, did not think being led away by police in handcuffs would create all the attention outside of the Inland Empire."It was meant to be a local thing," Hilgert, 73, said at his home at Pilgrim Place, a retirement center for people who are called to careers in religious and charitable nonprofits. "But it went viral."Hilgert has had ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ since 1964 as well as being a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the Academy of Certified Social Workers among other memberships and certifications.He now works with the Claremont Homeless Advocacy Program, or CHAP.But now, Hilgert will probably be known as the Santa Claus who got arrested in Ontario in the midst of a demonstration. Videos and photos of his arrest were broadcast throughout the nation.He emphasizes he was not paid for his appearance at the demonstration."Somebody else had said that and that pissed me off," Hilgert said.Hilgert said he was called by organizers shortly before the demonstration. He was an "add on," or somebody added at the last minute.He said he is not a professional Santa Claus, either."I'll do it for free for kids," Hilgert said, adding sometimes his wife Judy will join him as Mrs. Claus.Recently, Hilgert said he dressed up in front of Sycamore School kids in Claremont after he was told some children were worried about Santa heading to jail and the future of Christmas.He said he gave presents to the class on Dec. 13 and told the children Santa did not spend one day in jail while adding many families need to earn a decent wage."They understood," Hilgert said.Homer "Butch" Henderson, chairman of Claremont's Communit迷你倉最平 and Human Services Commission, said he was impressed with Hilgert's work since coming to Pilgrim Place, where he also lives."One of our responsibilities (on the commission) is dealing with community-based organization funds and those that fund homeless programs," Henderson said. "Karl is very much involved in a group called CHAP. His leadership in that and the way he has been able to do that both on the advocacy side for the homeless and also being a quick study in understanding how our community and governance works and the politics of that issue in Claremont. In summary, I find Karl to be a real addition not only to the Pilgrim Place community in Claremont but also to the city of Claremont in general."Hilgert moved to Pilgrim Place in August 2012 and came in toward the end of the Occupy Claremont movement, which led to the creation of the Claremont Homeless Advocacy Program."We get in touch with people who need it," Hilgert said.Occupy Claremont's Charles Bayer said Hilgert "dug right in" helping homeless in Claremont."He's almost full time working with homeless people and working with other organizations to provide for the homeless what they need. We developed with some other people a program to take on homelessness one person at a time. We meet every Monday night. He came and just became very involved in it and became the leader of the whole operation," said Bayer."He's the key person in the homeless venture. It's been about a year. He's just a super dedicated person. And he's not only dedicated but he's very effective. He just shows that on the ground leadership in which he gives himself to these things."Copyright: ___ (c)2014 the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.) Visit the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.) at .dailybulletin.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉