Soviet-style assault on the First Amendment, the radical California State Assembly has officially voted to criminalize investigative journalism.
Introduced by Assemblywoman Mia Bonta—who happens to be married to California’s far-left Attorney General Rob Bonta—AB 2624 deceptively claims to expand California’s “Safe at Home” confidentiality program. The Democrats claim they are just protecting “immigration support service providers” from harassment.
By a sweeping 57-19 vote, far-left Democrats advanced Assembly Bill 2624 on Tuesday. The bill will now advance to the state Senate. If it passes that chamber, it will head to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature before it can become law.
As The Gateway Pu ndit previously reported when this abomination first crawled out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee in April, this is a disgusting Democrat power grab designed to silence brave citizen journalists like Nick Shirley who dare expose the rampant fraud bleeding American taxpayers dry in government-funded immigrant service centers.
Independent journalist Nick Shirley became the target of this legislation because he actually does the work legacy media refuses to do. He exposed over $110 million in alleged Somali-run daycare fraud in Minnesota — empty “learning centers” billing taxpayers while no children were present.
He followed that up with explosive reporting on California daycare and hospice fraud schemes, including ghost operations in Los Angeles tied to massive Medi-Cal and Medicare looting.
Under this new law, if those same operations existed in California and simply claimed the exposure caused them “reasonable fear,” Shirley’s videos could be forced offline. The journalists and citizens who filmed them could be dragged into court and financially ruined.
Under this authoritarian law, anyone who takes photos, records video, or posts information online revealing the faces or locations of workers at these mass-migration, non-profit entities faces catastrophic consequences:
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A minimum $4,000 to $10,000 fine per violation
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Imprisonment and criminal misdemeanor charges
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Forced content takedown orders
Nick Shirley released the following video statement on X on Sunday after learning that the bill had passed.
🚨 California Passed “The Stop Nick Shirley Act”:
This week the California Assembly passed AB 2624. This bill will criminalize investigative journalism involving the immigrant population. It would have made it illegal to expose the Somali “Learing” center if it were in California… pic.twitter.com/5Uk9c0KaZl— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) May 31, 2026
Jim Hᴏft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016.
You can email Jim Hᴏft here, and read more of Jim Hᴏft’s articles here.
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