The Huntington Beach Police Department arrested a suspect after multiple “Dave Min for Congress” signs were found vandalized Tuesday, including several spray-painted with anti-Asian slurs, authorities said.
On Tuesday morning, Min signs were reported vandalized with offensive terms at Lamar Drive and Newland Street in Huntington Beach, department spokesperson Jessica Cuchilla said.
Pictures provided by Min’s campaign showed several signs defaced with a racist slur for someone of Asian descent. The incident is being investigated as a potential hate crime, Cuchilla said.
State Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine), the son of Korean immigrants, is running in the 47th Congressional District to fill the seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter.
Around 2 p.m., the department responded to a second incident of Min signs being vandalized at Magnolia Street and Mediterranean Drive and arrested a suspect, Cuchilla said, adding that she did not know whether these signs also featured hateful language.
The suspect, Kevin William Walker, 62, of Fountain Valley, was arrested on suspicion of vandalism of property worth $400 or more, according to the Police Department. It is not yet known whether he is connected to the first vandalism incident, said Cuchilla.
Min released a statement saying the recent display of anti-Asian hate was “saddening, but not surprising,” noting that it happened a few days after a Donald Trump rally in Huntington Beach on Saturday.
“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,” Min said in a statement. “We’ve all seen and heard Trump’s anti-Asian rhetoric and his racist comments about Haitian immigrants.”
Min also said that Orange County residents are being “bombarded with Scott Baugh and MAGA Republican hit pieces” claiming that because Min is the son of immigrants, he supports open borders.
Baugh, a Republican former member of the California state Assembly, is running against Min for the 47th District seat. The battleground district could play a key role in determining which party controls Congress come January. About 35% of its residents are registered Republicans and 35% are registered Democrats, according to the California secretary of state.
Baugh’s campaign manager, Nic Gerard, told The Times, “We condemn any vandalism of property, including political signs of any candidate for public office.
“And, as Scott has repeatedly said,” he added, “there is absolutely no room for racism of any kind in America.”
Gerard said that if the Baugh campaign became aware of any information regarding the perpetrators of the vandalism it would report it immediately to law enforcement. He noted that several of Baugh’s signs had also recently been vandalized.
Huntington Beach Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, in comments to the Daily Pilot, said she too has had signs vandalized, and then went on to accuse Min of sowing division and “race baiting.”