Posted on 08/19/2026 8:59:30 PM PDT by Red Badger
California Democrats on Wednesday passed AB 2624, dubbed the 'Stop Nick Shirley Act' by Republicans. The bill, introduced by Democrat Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, restricts the release of investigative videos exposing immigration support service providers.
Mia Bonta is married to California's radical far-left Attorney General Rob Bonta.
The California Democrats got to work on AB 2624 earlier this year after investigative journalist Nick Shirley exposed rampant hospice and daycare fraud.
The bill will fine journalists (and regular citizens) a minimum of $4,000 for exposing potential fraud inside certain immigration support service providers.
The bill passed the California Senate on Tuesday and was sent back to the Assembly for final passage on Wednesday.
Governor Newsom is expected to sign the bill.
California Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio blasted the Democrats for passing Mia Bonta's bill.
“California Democrats are trying to intimidate citizen watchdog journalists and protect waste and fraud happening in far-Left-wing NGOs. AB 2624 can only be described as the ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’ — a bill designed to silence citizen journalists exposing fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars," Carl DeMaio said.
"Instead of fixing the fraud problems being uncovered, Sacramento politicians are trying to shut down the people exposing them," he said.
"AB 2624 would allow activists and taxpayer-funded organizations to demand the removal of video evidence — even if it captures misconduct in plain view — and threatens journalists with massive financial penalties," DeMaio added.
Yeah, pretty sure this is gonna be a first amendment issue for the scumbags in ca state government
So now it’s a crime to expose a crime....
Oh wow. How much more evil can they become? I just can not believe all of this is happening. It’s like one is living in a nightmare.
The State of California is a Congressional creation.
Amendment I (freedom of the press) fully applies to California government.
The Supreme Court honors Amendment I.
They want to shut down so-called ‘citizen journalists’ because they can’t control the narrative with them running around with their cellphones filming their corruption.
They want to ‘redefine ‘the ‘PRESS” as the ABCNNBCBSNYTLAT of their side.................
WIKI
Preamble Whereas the people of California have presented a constitution and asked admission into the Union, which constitution was submitted to Congress by the president of the United States, by message dated February thirteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty, and which, on due examination, is found to be republican in its form of government:
Section 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the state of California shall be one, and is hereby declared to be one, of the United States of America, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatever.
Section 2 And be it further enacted, that, until the representatives in Congress shall be apportioned according to an actual enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States, the state of California shall be entitled to two representatives in Congress.
Section 3 And be it further enacted, that the said state of California is admitted into the Union upon the express condition that the people of said state, through their legislature or otherwise, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the public lands within its limits, and shall pass no law and do no act whereby the title of the United States to, and right to dispose of, the same shall be impaired or questioned; and that they shall never lay any tax or assessment of any description whatsoever upon the public domain of the United States, and in no case shall nonresident proprietors, who are citizens of the United States, be taxed higher than residents; and that all the navigable waters within the said state shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of said state as to the citizens of the United States, without any tax, impost, or duty therefore: provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed as recognizing or rejecting the propositions tendered by the people of California as articles of compact in the ordinance adopted by the convention which formed the constitution of that state.
Approved, September 9, 1850
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Statehood_Act
Note that that doesn’t require “perfect religious freedom” but does limit the disposal of public lands.
California is far from a “lawless state”....Sacramento “Dims” pass an average of 800 laws per year. (Including this unconstitutional one).
https://www.reformcalifornia.org/news/new-california-laws-taking-effect-for-2026
“6218.19. (a) (1) A person, business, or association shall not knowingly publicly post or publicly display, disclose, or distribute on internet websites or social media, the personal information or image of any designated immigration support services provider, employee, volunteer, or client, or other individuals residing at the same home address, with the intent to do either of the following:
(A) Incite a third person to cause imminent great bodily harm to the designated immigration support services provider, employee, volunteer, or client identified in the posting or display, or to a coresident of that person, where the third person is likely to commit this harm.
(B) Threaten the designated immigration support services provider, employee, volunteer, or client, identified in the posting or display, or a coresident of that person, in a manner that places the person identified or the coresident in objectively reasonable fear for their personal safety.
(2) A designated immigration support services provider, employee, volunteer, or client whose personal information or image is made public as a result of a violation of paragraph (1), or any individual entity or organization authorized to act on their behalf, may do either or both of the following:
(A) Bring an action seeking injunctive or declarative relief in any court of competent jurisdiction. If a jury or court finds that a violation has occurred, it may grant injunctive or declarative relief and shall award the successful plaintiff court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.
(B) Bring an action for money damages in any court of competent jurisdiction. In addition to any other legal rights or remedies, if a jury or court finds that a violation has occurred, it shall award damages to that individual in an amount up to a maximum of three times the actual damages, but in no case less than four thousand dollars ($4,000).”
https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2624/id/3371241
They will be very safe behind federal bars.
Federalize Shirley as a gov’t investigator.
I’m pretty sure in history the side that criminalized the exposure of fraud was always the bad side.
Unconstitutional.
That sounds unconstitutional as hell...shouldn’t survive its first challenge in the lowest court...
Those people are freakin insane...
War plans are simply War Plans ………..
STOP giving them fed $. Let them pay for the fraud themselves.
“in history the side that criminalized the exposure of fraud was always the bad side.”
That makes sense. Those who were (and are now) most involved in fraud were those at the top who made the rules. They had the power to criminalize anyone who dared to expose them.
They’re not nuts.
They are evil.
Imagine the outcry if Republicans did this.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.