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OutKick host Riley Gaines and freelance reporter Nick Shirley acknowledged Friday that “No Kings” protesters have been strangely silent when it comes to a bill they say would punish citizen journalists.
California Democrats are under fire for a bill one state assemblyman has dubbed the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” which he says will “criminalize” investigative journalism.
The controversial AB 2624 bill, officially titled “Privacy for Immigrant Support Service Providers,” creates privacy protections for immigrant support service providers, staff and volunteers, including hiding their addresses and imposing penalties on those who publish their photos on social media. Democratic Alliance lawyers say this law is necessary to protect people from political violence against them.
However, critics, including Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, said the bill would serve to “silence citizen journalists and shield taxpayer-funded organizations from public scrutiny.”
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Conservative activist Nick Shirley films protesters protesting against ICE arrests in New York, NY, on Oct. 22, 2025. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
Shirley, who became a national celebrity after making videos about fraud in Minnesota and California while investigating various businesses, broke the law during an appearance Friday on Gaines’ show.
“Instead of going after fraudsters, California is going after whistleblowers,” Gaines said as he marveled at the situation, asking Shirley to explain the bill.
“And what this will do is it will criminalize the search and investigation of fraud, especially by immigrant providers,” and especially those funded by taxpayer dollars, he said. “If you go and make a video saying how much money this place made, and they say your visit is unacceptable, they can charge you with harassment, and you’re charged $4,000 in court fines or $10,000 in criminal fines, and $50,000 in criminal charges.”
Gaines clearly noted that the idea that content will be removed from the Internet because of alleged fraud is a violation of the First Amendment.
“They really say you can’t record in a public place,” Shirley said, noting that they can give a reporter a piece of paper saying they don’t have permission to record and “they’ll be able to force your content to be taken down unless you want to get a $4,000 fine.”
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Nick Shirley has recently become involved in investigating fraud in California Governor Gavin Newsom, and has faced criticism from its politicians. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/OutKick)
“It feels very powerful, which, we see in the news cycle all the time, these ‘No Kings Day’ protesters, where are they when it comes to a bill like this?” he asked. “Do you find hypocrisy in the reaction of the public, especially those on the radical side of things? Do you see the hypocrisy that exists?”
“Oh, 100%,” agreed Shirley. “And what I’m doing is not like a right or left issue. I’m exposing the fraud that’s going on, and now they’re trying to prosecute me for exposing the fraud. And they’re trying to not just prosecute me. The bill says ‘the people.’ It doesn’t mean ‘journalist.’
“Then where are the people? Why aren’t there other people who don’t say anything?” he asked. “Where are all the protesters shouting ‘fascist’ this, ‘fascist’ that, when they are actually trying to stifle our speech by trying to pass a bill that is a direct attack on our first amendment?”
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Freelance reporter Nick Shirley speaks during a roundtable interview in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Oct. 8, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
A local California station, KCRA, published a statement that said California was not trying to criminalize investigative journalism, saying it was about “organizations that provide services to immigrants and protect them from abuse.”
It went on to say that Democratic California Assembly member Mia Bonta wrote the bill to “specifically allow people who work or volunteer at immigrant advocacy organizations to be added to the Secretary of State’s ‘Safe at Home’ program.”
“This program is designed to protect people who fear for their safety,” KCRA reported. “Supporters said this is necessary in response to the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies that they say have put service providers at risk. Under the proposal, providers of immigrant support services who have verified, documented threats of harassment or threats will have their information protected.”
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Elaine Mallon and Peter Pinedo of Fox News contributed to this report.
