UNBELIEVABLE: California Democrats advance ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’ to make investigating fraud illegal

California lawmakers are under fire after a committee advanced a bill to crack down on citizen journalists like Nick Shirley who expose government fraud.

The measure, which one critic dubbed the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” passed the Democrat-controlled Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee last week by an 11-2 vote. It now heads to the Judiciary Committee.

The bill is sponsored by Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, who is married to state Attorney General Rob Bonta. The attorney general said last week his office is investigating reports of widespread Medicare and home health care fraud.

Shirley, who has made viral videos alleging widespread fraud in California and Minnesota, said he won’t be deterred. 

“California is trying to pass a bill that would criminalize investigative journalism with misdemeanors, $10,000 fines, imprisonment and content takedown,” he wrote Monday on X. “The proposed bill is titled AB 2624 and was made after I exposed mass fraud by immigrant groups in America.” 

The measure would extend protections passed in 2022 for abortion and sex-change providers “who face threats of violence or harassment from the public,” allowing “immigration support services providers” to register to have their personal information removed from public records and making it illegal to post their image online if harm is intended.

This means videos by Shirley and others that film immigrant-owned businesses, providers and their employees would incur criminal charges and fines if those filmed have registered themselves with the state. The state could also order the content to be taken down.

One assemblyman, Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, questioned Bonta, asking why Democrats want to give more protections to immigrants than to law enforcement. The party wants to strip those safeguards and ban Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from serving in future law enforcement roles, the California Globe reported.

“Certain political groups will have more protections and privacy than law enforcement,” DeMaio said in the committee hearing. “Why are we treating sworn law enforcement officers differently than these (anti-ICE) agitators? They are doxed, harassed and subjected to threats of violence.”

Shirley questioned whether there are political motives, given the Bontas’ standing in the state.

“The attorney general of California’s wife is trying to silence me and other journalists who are exposing fraud,” he wrote. “Are your donors mad they are being exposed?”

The measure hasn’t passed yet, although Democrats hold supermajorities in the state Assembly and Senate, but the vlogger said he is ready to add more fuel to the fire.

“I’ve helped save America millions and billions of dollars by exposing fraud across the country. I was thinking about exposing another state, but I think I will now go back to California,” he posted, adding, “New exposé coming soon.”