Nick Shirley confronts California Democrats over 'Stop Nick Shirley Act,' pressing on First Amendment rights
· Fox News
California lawmakers were confronted at the state Capitol in Sacramento as independent journalist Nick Shirley filmed a video published this week questioning Assembly Bill 2624, a proposal California Republicans have dubbed the "Stop Nick Shirley Act," during interviews with Democratic and Republican legislators about the bill's scope and intent.
"If this bill were to get passed, instead of going after the fraudsters, they’re trying to make it criminal to go after the people that are committing this fraud," Shirley said in the video posted to his YouTube page.
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The video centered on California Assembly Bill 2624, authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, which seeks to restrict the public posting of personal information of individuals connected to immigration support services, including nonprofit organizations, legal clinics and health care providers.
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"I think that that’s a misinterpretation of the bill, but I’m happy to talk with you more about it," Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Alhambra, told Shirley when pressed about whether the measure would restrict fraud investigations.
The legislation also drew scrutiny in Shirley's video because Assemblymember Bonta is married to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Shirley repeatedly framed that relationship as a potential conflict of interest while questioning lawmakers about whether the bill would make it harder to expose fraud involving taxpayer-funded immigration services.
"I actually don’t think that this bill violates the First Amendment," Pérez said when asked about constitutional concerns.
"We have ledge [legislative] counsel and ledge attorneys that talk with us about this. Constitutionality is really important to the work."
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Shirley’s video showed several encounters in which lawmakers declined to discuss the bill in detail, with some saying they were unfamiliar with its contents or needed to review it further.
"I need to read the bill," Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, said after Shirley told him he had signed onto the measure.
One of the most pointed exchanges came when Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, was approached and asked for his opinion on the legislation.
"I think you’re a psycho scam artist," Wiener said on camera before closing the door on Shirley.
Shirley also approached Speaker of the Assembly, Robert Rivas, D-Salinas, and asked about the legislation directly.
"I don’t know anything about it," Rivas said, before also closing the door on Shirley.
"That just shows you everything you need to know," Nick Shirley said, after Rivas ignored the rest of his questions. "These people won't even answer the questions."
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Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, who appeared in the video opposing the measure, argued the bill's language could impact independent reporting on alleged fraud.
"You read the bill, and you realize that it's against the First Amendment," DeMaio said. "It criminalizes citizen investigative journalists who take video and expose fraud."
"That's what the bill is designed to do," he said. "It's designed to keep secrets, to keep the public from knowing what's going on. They don't want to end their fraud racket."
Fox News reached out to the California Democrats for comment, but did not immediately hear back.