Claims circulated online in April 2026 that Democrats in the California Assembly were attempting to pass a bill that would "criminalize investigative journalism."
Users on social media said the purported bill was called the "Stop Nick Shirley Act," referring to its alleged targeting of a conservative content creator who posted a viral video in December 2025 in which he claimed to have captured evidence of fraud at Minnesota day care centers.
Shirley himself weighed in on the purported bill in a video on TikTok, claiming Americans would face "mass oppression" should the legislation pass. Snopes readers also emailed us and searched the site for information.
However, the claim that a bill named the "Stop Nick Shirley Act" aimed to "criminalize investigative journalism" was false.
Democratic Assembly Member Mia Bonta introduced the bill, known as AB 2624, in February 2026 as an extension of the Safe at Home program that has operated in California since 1999. As of this writing, the bill was being considered by the Assembly's public safety committee.
A spokesperson for Bonta pointed Snopes to a statement concerning misinformation about the bill posted to her website on April 14, 2026.
Bonta said in the statement her bill "would add immigrant service providers to the state's Safe at Home program. This proven program already covers domestic violence victims, reproductive care, and gender-affirming care workers, among others." She added that "sharing the name and address of a front desk worker to intimidate them out of doing their job isn't reporting; it isn't investigating fraud; it's wrong, and California should hold firm on the truth."
Snopes reached out to Shirley and Republican Assembly Member Carl DeMaio for further comment on the bill and will update this article if we hear back.
What the program does
The Safe at Home program originated to protect victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking child abduction and elder or dependent adult abuse by keeping their home addresses confidential. It also prohibits doxing participants — knowingly publicizing online or elsewhere their address or phone number, or images of them, with the intent of threatening them or causing someone else to harm them.
People who violate the confidentiality of a Safe at Home participant can be made to remove the offending content and can be sued for damages.
Following its implementation, the program has extended protections to reproductive, gender-affirming and mental health care workers in addition to government officials who are harassment or threats of violence.
In a video published Dec. 30, 2024, California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber said the program had helped 17,000 people.
The 2026 legislation, AB 2624, aims to extend the Safe at Home protections to employees in immigration services who may be targeted with violence or harassment.
Bonta's office published a fact sheet on AB 2624 that said the bill "does not create any new penalties or expand existing penalties; it simply extends the existing framework to immigration service providers, their employees, volunteers, and other specified individuals."
Why Shirley's name is involved
The language of the bill itself does not mention Shirley, journalism, investigations or fraud in any context. Rather, Shirley's attachment to the bill came from DeMaio, a Republican Assembly member.
During a committee discussion of the bill in a video posted to DeMaio's YouTube page on April 13, 2026, he questioned Bonta about the language of the bill and suggested that it was less about protection against violence and rather "about threatening and intimidating people who are trying to shine a light on bad behavior."
DeMaio invoked Shirley's viral video from December 2025, in which the content creator claimed to have captured evidence of fraud at immigrant-run Minnesota day cares. The claims made in Shirley's video have been widely debunked.
DeMaio suggested Bonta's bill would criminalize journalists, whether it be CBS News or influencers such as Shirley. He claimed that if Shirley's investigation happened in California under the proposed bill, the content creator would have been subject to punishment.
Bonta said applicants would "have to show evidence of threats, harassment or violence. In the scenario that you've offered, neither of those things were trying to be done."
On the same day, DeMaio posted a news release on his website titled "CA Democrats Advance 'Stop Nick Shirley Act' to Criminalize Investigative Journalism" and took credit for dubbing the bill as such. The release said "the bill would be used to block investigative reporting and intimidate journalists, watchdog groups, and members of the public documenting wrongdoing."
DeMaio's release claimed the legislation "would apply to any left-wing group that claims to provide any services to legal or illegal immigrants." (The bill says it would protect any "designated immigration support services provider, employee, or volunteer" — those who provide services at locations such as nonprofit organization, "Department of Justice-recognized entities," community legal clinics, law offices and health care facilities.)
Shirley used DeMaio's news release as the background of his TikTok video discussing the bill, claiming its consequences could be aimed at him, or people like him, for "exposing fraud." His video helped spread the claim that the bill targeted investigative journalism.
For further reading, Snopes has previously written about Shirley's claims about Minnesota day cares.