The wife of California’s top cop resorted to cries of “MAGA misinformation” after a conservative peer exposed legislation seemingly targeting a fraud-finding independent journalist.
Much like the protests and seething opposition to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Democrats have not been keen on the work of Nick Shirley, casting light on fraud in places like Minnesota and California. This week, Assemblyman Carl DeMaio (R) contributed by calling out his peer, Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D), for her bill, which he dubbed the “Stop Nick Shirley Act.”
“California Democrats are trying to intimidate citizen watchdog journalists and protect waste and fraud happening in far-Left-wing NGOs,” said DeMaio in a statement as the language of the bill suggests organizations could demand videos — “even taken in public” — be taken down. “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.”
WATCH this video of the moment I exposed CA Democrats for their bill to make it a crime for investigative journalists to combat fraud. They literally are targeting @nickshirleyy with this bad bill. pic.twitter.com/XfoXSFO4ML
— Carl DeMaio (@carldemaio) April 14, 2026
“Instead of fixing the fraud problems being uncovered,” he added, “Sacramento politicians are trying to shut down the people exposing them.”
Addressing the bill on Fox News with the host of “The Will Cain Show,” Shirley told Cain, “They’re trying to make it so citizen journalists or just average Americans who are going about seeing what’s happening inside their community, they’re trying to scare them from talking about potential fraud taking place inside these communities.”
🚨 WATCH: Nick Shirley just WENT OFF on California Democrats for pushing their “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” which would essentially CRIMINALIZE investigative journalism
Newsom is TERRIFIED that he’s going to continue being exposed.
“They are willing to impose a $10,000 fine or… pic.twitter.com/wCStW78mi9
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 14, 2026
“They’re literally willing to impose a $10,000 fine or imprisonment if you go and seek to find out the truth about a location that could potentially be fraudulent inside your own neighborhood,” the journalist asserted.
Regarding Democrats trying to protect fraudsters, he expressed, “It just makes you wonder who their donors are. Who are their donors, ’cause why would they create this bill to then try and make it harder to expose fraud?”
Prior to his appearance on Fox News, Shirley posted to X, “California is trying to pass a bill that would criminalize investigative journalism with misdemeanors, $10,000 fines, imprisonment, and content takedown. The proposed bill is titled AB 2624 and was made after I exposed mass fraud by immigrant groups in America.”
“The enemy truly is within. When our politicians would rather protect fraudsters and illegal migrants, it’s time for us to stand up or face mass oppression from the traitors who ‘rule’ over us,” he went on before later adding, “The legislator who proposed the bill is Mia Bonta, the wife of Attorney General Rob Bonta. The Attorney General of California’s wife is trying to silence me and other journalists who are exposing fraud. Are your donors mad they are being exposed?”
UPDATE: The legislator who proposed this bill is Mia Bonta, the wife of Attorney General Rob Bonta.
The Attorney General of California’s wife is trying to silence me and other journalists who are exposing fraud.
Are your donors mad they are being exposed? pic.twitter.com/xTsFATZLiZ
— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) April 13, 2026
Bonta responded by claiming the characterization was false and the bill “doesn’t stop journalism or fraud investigations; it stops bad-faith actors from doxxing workers serving immigrants with proven intent to threaten or incite violence. Doxxing isn’t journalism.”
She went on to release a video calling the reporting on the bill “MAGA misinformation” and faulted “Elon Musk and right-wing agitators” for misrepresentation.
I’m here to tell the truth about AB 2624. Let’s stick to the facts. pic.twitter.com/iJ5sPW51sg
— Assemblymember Mia Bonta (@AsmMiaBonta) April 15, 2026
Meanwhile, the language of the legislation seeks to make those providing so-called “immigration support services” a special class entitled to existing privacy laws for designated health care services providers, prohibiting images, personal information, or addresses from being shared online.
Given Shirley’s own retort to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who claimed his state was “leading the charge” against fraud, prompting the journalist to assert, “You are the fraud,” Caroline Sunshine called on the governor to denounce AB 2624 during an appearance on “Fox News @ Night.”
Dubbing the bill an “authoritarian piece of legislation,” the former deputy communications director for President Donald Trump’s campaign contended failure to do so supported the premise that Newsom was complicit as a means to protect his image as he is expected to make a run for the White House in 2028.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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