Anti-Asian slurs painted on Dave Min’s congressional campaign signs in Huntington Beach

Signs promoting Dave Min’s campaign for Congress were defaced in Huntington Beach with a derogatory term for members of the AAPI community in one of two cases of vandalism targeting the candidate, the state senator reported on Tuesday.

The racial slur was spray-painted on at least three signs advertising the Korean American’s bid for a U.S. Congressional seat, as seen in a short video posted by his campaign on YouTube. The vandalism was reported shortly before noon near Newland Street and Slater Avenue, Huntington Beach Police spokeswoman Jessica Cuchilla said. As many as six signs were defaced, although not all of them had hate speech on them.

Investigators are looking into the matter as a possible hate crime, Cuchilla said. Police did not immediately describe any potential suspects and have asked anyone with information regarding the case to contact them.

Min did not explicitly name any possible perpetrator. But he did insinuate that whoever was responsible was at least influenced by the conservative MAGA movement closely associated with former President Donald Trump.

“Hate of any kind, directed against anyone, is unacceptable. Full stop,” Min said in a statement Tuesday. “But unfortunately, we have seen a sharp rise in hate in recent years due to the xenophobia and racism that have come to define Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.”

Groups of demonstrators waving flags supporting “Trump 2024” are a recurring scene along Pacific Coast Highway near Huntington Beach Pier; Min noted one such rally took place the weekend before his signs were vandalized. And conservative members of the City Council have repeatedly clashed with liberals who accuse them of passing laws that make Huntington Beach less inclusive, particularly toward the LGBTQ+ community.

Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark responded to Min’s comments by reiterating that no evidence pointing to any suspect has been made public so far. She accused Min of sowing division and “race baiting,” noting that she has also been targeted by vandals.

“My signs were vandalized; my car windows were shot out; my kids’ cars still have little pellets on them,” Van Der Mark told the Daily Pilot in a brief phone call Tuesday. “Not once did I accuse anybody. Because the truth is that I didn’t know who did it. I did think it was politically motivated, but I felt the responsible thing to do was to not accuse anyone.”

More of Min’s campaign signs were reported vandalized near Magnolia Street and Mediterranean Drive at about 2 p.m., Cuchilla said. Witnesses described a suspect who was found nearby and arrested.

The man arrested in connection with the second case of vandalism Tuesday was identified as 62-year-old Kevin Walker of Fountain Valley. It was not immediately clear whether he may have been involved with the racist language found earlier that afternoon.