Huntington Beach woman removed from volunteer board is suing city

A Huntington Beach woman who was removed from the Citizens Participation Advisory Board in 2019 is suing the city, alleging that her freedom of speech has been violated.

Shayna Lathus filed a complaint in U.S. District Court on April 29. The summons is in the process of being issued and the lawsuit should be served to the city of Huntington Beach shortly, Lathus’ Costa Mesa-based attorney Andrea Bird-Steiner said Thursday.

In addition to unspecified damages, the complaint seeks for Lathus to be reinstated as a member of the Citizens Participation Advisory Board, as well as a declaration by the city that her removal from the board by now-Mayor Kim Carr violated her free speech, association and assembly rights.

Asked why Lathus waited two years to file suit, Bird-Steiner said her client wanted to give the city a chance to make things right.

“We’ve seen that the city’s not doing anything differently than they were,” Bird-Steiner said. “She’s never been issued an apology of any kind. They never made it right, so we wanted to make sure we filed a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expired.”

Lathus, reached by phone Thursday, deferred questions to her lead attorney. She is also being represented by Jerold Friedman of Huntington Beach.

She was removed from her volunteer position on the board after photos surfaced online of her attending a protest in downtown Huntington Beach in April 2019.

The event was a counter-protest of a rally demonstrating against California’s “sanctuary state” law, which gives expanded protections to undocumented immigrants.

The photos showed Lathus standing next to some people who were wearing black and believed to be Antifa activists. Carr, who had appointed Lathus to the board shortly after she was elected to the City Council in 2018, ended up removing her from that position in the aftermath of the protest.

Lathus, who works as a science teacher in the Santa Ana Unified School District and unsuccessfully ran for City Council in 2018, said at the time that she didn’t know that Antifa activists would be present and that she didn’t engage with them.

Carr became mayor of Huntington Beach in December. She declined comment on the lawsuit Thursday.

Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates said that for him to comment would be premature, given that the city hasn’t been served with the lawsuit yet and he hasn’t had a chance to read it.

“When and if we’re served, we’ll analyze the lawsuit and handle it, just like we handle every other lawsuit,” Gates said.

The lawsuit alleges that Carr, who like Lathus is a Democrat, removed her from the board even after Lathus made a public statement condemning violence and discussing the importance of civic engagement. She did not mention Antifa specifically, however, in the statement.

“Those that do not immediately denounce hateful, violent groups do not share my values and will not be a part of my team,” Carr wrote as part of an email to fellow City Council members and staff at the time.

An online petition calling for Lathus’ dismissal started by resident Craig Frampton received 960 signatures, but Carr said at the time that the petition did not play a part in her decision.

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