An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled this week that Gina Clayton-Tarvin, president of the Ocean View School District, had not defamed Huntington Beach Councilmember Butch Twining when she posted online, saying he was chanting and marching with white nationalist groups at a Charlie Kirk vigil last year.
Judge Craig Griffin dismissed Twining’s defamation lawsuit against Clayton-Tarvin, ruling she was exercising her right to free speech in criticizing an elected official’s actions at a public gathering.
Twining sued Clayton-Tarvin in December for making “knowingly false statements” that he “gleefully chanted with” and “marched alongside” white nationalist groups at a September vigil for Kirk. Twining, who has denied allegations that he partook in White supremacist activities, had been seeking $25 million in damages.
Social media footage of the vigil at the Huntington Beach Pier Plaza showed some demonstrators chanting “White men fight back” while waving flags affiliated with the Patriot Front, which the FBI has labeled a White supremacist group. A brief clip of Twining among the crowd, holding a candle and a small American flag, went viral on Facebook.
Clayton-Tarvin said in two Sept. 13 social media posts that Twining was “participating in a White supremacy rally” and “gleefully chanting amongst alt-right white supremacists.” She called Twining an “extremist MAGA city council member … who can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble.”
In his ruling, Griffin wrote that Clayton-Tarvin’s comments were “substantially true,” as Twining’s participation in the vigil “fell within one or more definitions of the word marching.” Griffin said Clayton-Tarvin did not state that Twining himself was a white supremacist or that he himself chanted white supremacist slogans.
Twining did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He said in a Sept. 15 interview that he expected the event to be a peaceful vigil for Kirk and he did not partake in any white supremacist activities; instead, he quickly left the event after demonstrators began chanting racist slogans.
Clayton-Tarvin said in a Facebook video that the court’s decision affirmed her First Amendment rights and the veracity of her statements.
“His lawsuit is nothing more than a waste of California resources, a waste of court time, a waste of tax dollars on his tantrums,” she said.
Clayton-Tarvin will seek recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs from Twining, her attorney, Lee Fink, said.