Tag: california

California’s “Stop Nick Shirley Act” Would Penalize Journalism

California’s Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee voted 11-2 on April 7 to advance a bill that would let employees and volunteers at immigration service organizations demand the deletion of their images and personal information from the internet, backed by civil penalties starting at $4,000 and the threat of criminal charges.

AB 2624, authored by Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, is already being called the “Stop Nick Shirley Act.”

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

The bill arrives just weeks after investigative video creator Nick Shirley published a 40-minute video on alleged hospice fraud in California that racked up 42 million views on X.

Other investigations have found that a single program is causing the state to lose an alleged $6 billion in fraud annually. Shirley had already reported on over $110 million in Somali daycare fraud in Minnesota in December 2025, with empty facilities billing taxpayers while kids were nowhere to be found.

His California reporting uncovered an alleged $170 million in similar fraud in daycares and hospices, with ghost operations registered to empty lots and strip malls. Sacramento’s response to this flood of documented waste and abuse was not an audit, not an investigation into the programs themselves, but a bill to make it harder to film the people running them.

Under AB 2624, anyone affiliated with an organization providing “designated immigration support services” can send a written demand prohibiting the publication of their personal information or image online.

That demand remains effective for four years, even after the person leaves the organization. If the demand is ignored, the person can go to court for an injunction or declaratory relief.

Fines run up to three times the actual damages, with a floor of $4,000, meaning the minimum penalty triples to $12,000 in cases where a takedown demand is defied. If a journalist or anyone else is accused of posting information with the intent to incite harm, they face criminal charges and fines of $10,000.

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Blue Double Standards: California’s Swalwell Case

Media outlets across the country lit up in mid-April with the same jaw-dropping headline: California’s top Democratic contender for governor had just been forced out of the race over explosive sexual misconduct accusations.

In a matter of hours, Rep. Eric Swalwell lost every major endorsement, watched his campaign collapse, and was effectively tossed into the political dumpster.

On the surface it looked like another MeToo reckoning in a party that loves to lecture the rest of us about women’s rights. But scratch the surface, and the real story is far uglier – a textbook case of Blue double standards.

California’s 2026 gubernatorial race was already shaping up as a nightmare for Democrats.

Golden State voters are fed up with years of progressive experiments that delivered sky-high taxes, rampant homelessness, and a cost-of-living crisis that’s driving families out.

For the first time since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011, Republicans have a genuine shot at flipping the state red.

Recent polls told the tale. Conservative TV host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco were trading the top spots with support in the 14-17 percent range.

Democrats were scattered behind them, with Swalwell – until the scandal hit – polling as the strongest in the fragmented Blue field.

Don’t forget California’s peculiar “jungle” primary system. All candidates run on one ballot in June. The top two vote-getters – regardless of party – advance to November.

That means the general election could feature two Republicans, two Democrats, or one of each. With the Democratic vote split among a half-dozen hopefuls, the math was already terrifying for the party of Gavin Newsom. A strong Republican showing could lock them out entirely.

Then came the bombshell. In the first week of April, detailed allegations of sexual assault and misconduct poured out – including claims from a former staffer who said Swalwell assaulted her in a New York hotel room.

More women came forward with stories of inappropriate messages, unwanted advances, and worse. Within days Swalwell suspended his gubernatorial bid and later resigned from Congress.

Democratic leaders raced to distance themselves. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for him to drop out. Nancy Pelosi said the allegations should be handled “outside of a gubernatorial campaign.”

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Here’s Who Donated to Eric Swalwell’s Now-Dead CA Gubernatorial Campaign

Former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) had a long list of top donors for his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign, which was derailed by multiple women’s allegations of rape and sexual misconduct. In less than three days, his career was essentially over. The allegations intensified last weekend, when on Sunday, he announced his withdrawal from the gubernatorial race, in which he was the frontrunner. By Tuesday, he officially resigned, just hours after another woman came forward claiming that the former congressman had raped her in 2018.

The New York Post compiled a list of donors to this man, whose known creepiness was widely recognized in Democratic and journalistic circles. He was an attack dog against the Trump administration and served a purpose that earned him protection. But once he ran for office and faced scrutiny, that protection evaporated, especially when rape is involved.

From Hollywood heavyweights to corporate titans and everyday Californians, Eric Swalwell’s donor list spans the elite to average joes.

The California Post reviewed public records and identified more than 1,700 contributors to the disgraced politician’s campaign, with donations ranging from $100 to more than $78,000.

[…]

The Post’s review of Swalwell’s campaign records shows that the ex-congressman was able to raise more than $7.3 million from about 1,700 different contributors.

Swalwell courted big money from Hollywood A-listers and special interests to bankroll his campaign, but his fake squeaky clean image also managed to fool hundreds of working-class people who forked over their hard-earned money.

[…]

Swalwell’s most prominent backers included Hollywood A-listers like Robert De Niro and Jon Hamm — both of whom gave $10,000 — while Sean Penn gave $15,000. Others who plunked down thousands of dollars believing the hype included the late actor and director Rob Reiner ($10K), actors Jon Cryer ($10K) and Ed Helms ($5K), and Bryan Lourd, CEO of Creative Artists Agency ($12,500).

[…]

Money also poured in from businessmen such as venture capitalist Bradley Tusk ($39,200) and Jon Henes ($5K), CEO of C Street Advisory Group, while Elizabeth Naftali ($39K) — a Los Angeles philanthropist and major Democratic donor — funded Swalwell’s campaign along with longtime San Francisco attorney and AI advisor Karen Silverman ($10K).

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California’s ‘GTFO’ Act Disqualifies ICE Agents from Local Public Employment

California’s proposed “GTFO Act” is exactly what it sounds like: “Get the Feds Out.” Well, that’s what they claim it means.

Assembly Bill 1896 by Assemblyman Mark González (D-Los Angeles), would bar ICE agents or Department of Homeland Security employees who participated in immigration enforcement during the second Trump administration from holding any public employment in California. Gonzalez claims ICE agents ignored “unlawful orders.”

AB 1896 “Disqualifies individuals who engaged in immigration enforcement activity between January 20, 2025, and January 20, 2029 from holding state, county, or local public employment in California, with exceptions for allowed conduct already permissible under SB 54, California’s law protecting community trust.”

Assemblyman González calls ICE agents “killers, terror instigators, and kidnappers.”

In March, the Globe reported that California Democrats were already seeking to disqualify federal immigration and DHS agents from future employment as California state or local police, or sheriffs, and prevent them from applying for tax breaks, because they oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

In short, this is a retroactive and prospective bar on hiring people who participated in federal immigration enforcement work during the Trump administration for any California public job.

This is the rock-bottom state of politics in California. Democrats have nothing to offer California citizens – they already gave away all of the free stuff. So they are appealing to illegal immigrants instead, prioritizing those here illegally over legal citizens and residents of the State of California.

Federal immigration law is supreme under the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, meaning states cannot enact their own immigration codes, create conflicting criminal penalties for immigration violations, or directly regulate who may enter or remain in the country, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 in Arizona v. United States. The federal government holds primary authority over immigration and naturalization.

Apparently, Democrats have chosen take out their Trump Derangement Syndrome on federal law enforcement officers… because securing U.S. borders, protecting the American people against invasion, and guaranteeing the country protection against invasion displaces future Democrat voters and welfare recipients.

California is violating federal law with this bill, and many others.

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California Provides Sex-Change Procedures to Homeless Illegal Aliens

Last month, we received a report from a whistleblower who claimed that illegal aliens were staying in San Francisco’s homeless shelters. Following up on the tip, we visited numerous publicly funded shelters in San Francisco, and spoke to employees and residents about their policies, sometimes through a translator.

We discovered not only that the shelters were housing illegal immigrants but also that they were apparently housing a population of male-to-female “transgender” illegal aliens, who had hoped to obtain “gender-affirming care.” And, to our shock, state and local governments apparently are providing it.

St. Vincent De Paul’s MSC-South facility is San Francisco’s largest homeless shelter, and, in 2024, signed a $66 million service contract with the city. After we arrived at the front entrance, an employee wearing a do-rag and a light green polo shirt showed us around and confirmed that illegal aliens were living there.

“You got a few people here from El Salvador. . . . You got a few people here from Venezuela. You got a few people here from a little bit of everywhere,” he said.

As a rule, he suggested, management instructed employees to refuse cooperation with federal immigration authorities. “When the ICE thing was going around, we all had a meeting, and they told us, ‘We ain’t letting them in.’”

Among the shelter’s residents was a group of Hondurans who identified as transgender. During our visit to MSC-South, whose executive director did not respond to a request for comment, we spoke with two Honduran men, “Lyca” and “Alondra,” who identified as transgender women. Both indicated that the local government gave them shelter and food.

Lyca, who wore long hair and red lipstick, was candid about this arrangement. He confirmed that he was an illegal immigrant and that the shelter doesn’t ask questions about immigration status. “Tengo Medi-Cal,” he said, referring to the state health-care program, which, under Governor Gavin Newsom, began providing “full scope” coverage to illegal aliens, which includes transgender procedures, or “gender affirming care.” He said he was receiving cross-sex hormone therapy—and bore the physical signs of having done so.

Alondra, a muscular man in a camouflage shirt and dyed hair tied behind his head, said he had been in the United States after claiming asylum. According to the translator, the city government had offered to pay first and second month’s rent on private apartments for him and Lyca. But neither accepted the offer—in Lyca’s case, because he might not be able to pay for the apartment after the second month.

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New California Gubernatorial Frontrunner Caught in a Major Hypocrisy as He Releases This Outrageous Immigration Platform

The frontrunner to be California’s next governor has perhaps released the nation’s most radical immigration platform, but is not practicing what he preaches.

Radical billionaire and Democrat donor Tom Steyer, who launched a short-lived run for president in 2020, has now emerged as the person to beat after Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race due to major sexual assault allegations Steyer has already burned through over $100 million to buy the election.

On Tuesday, Steyer released an immigration platform so far to the left that he almost makes Gavin Newsom look like President Trump on the issue.

Not only does he want to abolish ICE completely and throw agents in jail, but he also wants to ensure California taxpayers pay for every dime to support legal representation for illegals.

Steyer is even vowing to ignore a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of ICE. And people have the gall to call Trump a tyrant?

Read Steyer’s immigration platform and weep:

– Abolish ICE – Put ICE agents in jail & “treat them like the mob”.

– Bring those “kidnapped & detained by ICE back home.” – Give CA AG power to imprison ICE agents & their leadership.

– Taxpayer-funded legal representation & support for illegal aliens.

– Ignore a SCOTUS ruling that allows ICE to utilize race, language, job, and location to contribute to “reasonable suspicion” for immigration arrests, and instead, “California should take matters into our own hands and extend legal protections to its residents, despite the federal government’s failure.”

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The Quiet Carnage of California’s Minimum Wage Hikes Obsession Continues

Once upon a time (aka a couple of years ago), many others and I predicted California’s rush to jack various minimum wages would invoke the law of unintended (dire) consequences, which would also be completely ignored as lessons go. 

The ‘Clueless, Pandering Democrats Bone Working Stiffs and Business Owners Yet Again’ Maxim

This particular 2023 post dealt with two specific laws taking effect in April 2024 that boosted the pay of company/franchise-owned fast-food workers to $20 hr ($4 above the state minimum wage of $16 for everyone else), and healthcare workers were boosted into the $18-23 hr range depending on the job description thanks to some heavy union lobbying and creative job category reclassifications. 

For businesses like Pizza Hut, that meant their delivery drivers now fell into the $20/hr employee bracket, too. For many of those drivers, this law meant they were the first to receive pink slips, and almost immediately, as businesses scrambled to find savings ahead of the law coming into effect.

…Right now it’s about 1200 jobs gone at these franchises.

…“Well, I knew that was coming. All these big corporations they have to make money,” said Scot Ward, owner of Stone Pizza in Roseville.

…”What these businesses are going to do is cut out employees to make up for the money they are losing,” said Ward.

One year later, as the California Globe reported, the National Bureau of Economic Research issued its findings on the first full year of the minimum wage law AB 1228’s impact on CA workers’ new and improved quality of life. It seems the law had had very much the opposite effect, from outright job losses to decreased hours for those lucky enough to retain their employment.

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What are They Hiding? — Radical California Democrats Pass ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’ to Criminalize Investigative Journalism and Shield Massive Immigrant Services Fraud from Scrutiny

The radical Left in Sacramento has finally done it.

In a move straight out of a totalitarian playbook, the California Assembly Judiciary Committee voted 11-2 on Monday to advance AB 2624, the so-called “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” a disgusting Democrat power grab designed to make it illegal for brave citizen journalists like Nick Shirley to expose the rampant fraud bleeding American taxpayers dry in immigrant service centers.

This is nothing less than an all-out assault on the First Amendment by the radical left in the People’s Republic of California.

The bill, authored by far-left Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (wife of Attorney General Rob Bonta), would slap investigative reporters with massive civil sanctions starting at $4,000 minimum if a fraudster from one of these “immigrant service centers” decides they don’t want to be caught on camera committing their scams.

The crook can then run to court for an injunction banning the journalist from filming or exposing them on camera for up to four years.

And if the journalist refuses to take down the original video? Triple the damages, $12,000, just for telling the truth!

In the worst cases, if the journalist is accused of “doxxing” or creating an “imminent threat” by simply reporting the facts, they could face criminal charges and $10,000 fines.

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WHAT’S IN CALIFORNIA’S WATER? Katie Porter, Another California Democrat Governor Candidate, Is Haunted by Serious Abuse Allegations

The race for the next California governor has been thrown into turmoil after Rep. Eric Swalwell’s campaign effectively collapsed under the weight of mounting sexual assault allegations and a complete loss of party support.

With every major Democrat endorsement now withdrawn, the race has rapidly shifted focus to the remaining candidates. At the top of that list for Democrats is former Representative Katie Porter—but her own record is now facing renewed scrutiny.

As previously reported by TGP, Swalwell’s political standing deteriorated almost overnight, leaving a sudden vacuum in a race he once led. That shift has elevated Porter into a leading position among Democrat contenders. However, unlike the narrative being pushed by much of the media, Porter’s background is not without controversy.

Porter has faced longstanding allegations stemming from a contentious divorce with her ex-husband, Matt Hoffman. According to court documents and reporting, both Porter and Hoffman filed domestic violence restraining orders against each other following a 2013 altercation.

Hoffman made serious accusations at the time, alleging that Porter engaged in physical and verbal abuse. His claims included allegations that Porter struck him, caused injury during domestic disputes, and engaged in degrading behavior.

Among the most widely cited claims were that Porter allegedly dumped a boiling pot of potatoes on him during an argument and shattered household items in a way that caused injury.

People make allegations against each other after messy divorces quite often, but if Hoffman, Porter’s ex-husband, was lying, it would not add up. Specific stories, like a boiling pot of potatoes, are much harder to fabricate and consistently maintain than general claims. At the same time, they would still be difficult to definitively prove.

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Swalwell Drops Out of California Governor’s Race Amid Allegations of Sexual Assault

Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell on Sunday evening dropped out of the California Governor’s race amid allegations of sexual assault.

Swalwell apologized to his family, staffers, and supporters and vowed to fight the “false allegations” against him.

Statement from Swalwell:

I am suspending my campaign for Governor.

To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.

I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.

Meanwhile, the Manhattan District Attorney has launched an investigation into Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell over serious allegations of sexual assault.

The San Francisco Chronicle on Friday published a story about a woman who claimed that Democrat Eric Swalwell sexually assaulted her twice.

The woman, who worked as a staffer in Swalwell’s office for two years, told The San Francisco Chronicle that Swalwell began pursuing her just weeks after she was hired at the age of 21 in 2019.

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