The Huntington Beach City Council released a statement condemning political violence and “harmful rhetoric” days after groups espousing White nationalist views stormed a vigil for conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“The city of Huntington Beach will do everything we can to eliminate acts of violence or inflammatory rhetoric that threaten the safety or well-being of our community,” Mayor Pat Burns said in the Sept. 14 statement released by City Hall. “We are working closely with local law enforcement to maintain public safety and ensure accountability for criminal activity.”
The city’s response is meant to dispel rumors and misinformation about a protest that erupted at the Huntington Beach Pier on Wednesday, Sept. 10, Burns said.
What was initially billed as a vigil for Kirk quickly devolved into an apparent White supremacist gathering, based on social media footage. Footage of the rally shows demonstrators waving flags affiliated with the Patriot Front, which the FBI described in a 2019 report as a White supremacist group, as well as chanting “White men fight back.”
A short clip purportedly showing Huntington Beach Councilmember Butch Twining at the rally went viral on Facebook.
Twining said he and his wife attended what they expected to be a peaceful vigil for Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10 during an appearance at Utah Valley University, and left quickly after demonstrators began chanting racist slogans. He categorically denied allegations that he partook in White supremacist activities and said he’s considering legal action against those who promote such lies.
“Everything you read online is fabricated and wrong,” he said. “This is a classic, classic slander and libel case.”
Twining said he’ll publicly denounce the White supremacist groups at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 16. Dozens of people are expected to attest to his leaving the vigil early, he said.
“I despise what they’re saying, but don’t need to come out on social media to say it,” Twining said, referring to the protesters. “Anything you put on social media will get twisted.”
Dan Kalmick, a former Huntington Beach councilmember, said the City Council has “fomented an environment, a safe space” for extremists by passing policies such as declaring Surf City a non-sanctuary city, censoring books with LGBTQ themes and banning the pride flag on city property.
“It’s horrible we’ve not seen the City Council come out and tell these people to go home and stay out of our city,” Kalmick said, referring to last week’s rally. “We’re a tourism city and they have scared tourists away.”
Burns said Huntington Beach is not the only city where vigils and community gatherings have been co-opted by extremists.
“These groups would infiltrate any crowd,” he said. “The Antifa movement also look for crowds to infiltrate. We just happen to be where there was a crowd.”