Huntington Beach Councilmember Sues School Board President Over Social Media Posts Tied to Kirk Vigil

Huntington Beach City Councilmember Butch Twining has filed a defamation lawsuit against Ocean View School District board President Gina Clayton-Tarvin, accusing her of waging what the complaint describes as a "sustained and coordinated campaign to publicly brand" him as "a white supremacist and extremist."

The complaint centers on posts Clayton-Tarvin made on social media about Twining's attendance at a vigil honoring Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was killed. On Sept. 13, 2025, she wrote that it was worse that Twining "was there gleefully chanting amongst alt right white supremacists." She went on to link his behavior to Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark, whom she called his "buddy and mentor" and "HB's resident Neo Nazi since 2017."

Attorneys for Twining wrote that Clayton-Tarvin "weaponized" the vigil "into a digital smear campaign" that spread across several social media platforms and community forums. According to the suit, a "small group of bad faith opportunists" hijacked the vigil, and Twining left as a result.

"Twining did not participate in the chant or march alongside the racist opportunists. Twining condemns white supremacy in all of its forms," the lawyers wrote.

The filing also characterizes Clayton-Tarvin as "a prolific poster of misinformation designed to cause reputational harm." It says her recent posts have become "increasingly manic and reckless, as if the author is not only lying but also losing touch with reality." Twining further alleges that her tweets led to three death threats against him.

A video from the day of the vigil went viral, and Clayton-Tarvin quoted it in her post. It shows Twining holding a candle and an American flag while some people nearby chant "white men fight back." It is unclear from the footage whether Twining was among those chanting.

Clayton-Tarvin told LAist the case is a "nonsense lawsuit." She said Twining "is a very sensitive man and he doesn't understand that he's trying to chill free speech. The facts of the matter are that he was there and he can't deny it." She added that she posted her tweets three days after the vigil and that hundreds of people saw Twining there.

She also argued that Twining is heading down a "slippery slope," signaling to other residents that criticizing or speaking out against a politician could lead to a lawsuit. "This is about squashing the First Amendment, about damaging the public's rights, public participation," she said.

Twining is seeking $25 million in damages from Clayton-Tarvin.