Nick Shirley Rally Brings a Crowd to Newsom's Doorstep

Nick Shirley started his speech at the California State Capitol on Wednesday morning with a familiar phrase: "Welcome to the Califraudia Republic." Only four days earlier, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2624, which many now refer to as the Stop Nick Shirley Act. The full video is linked below.

Nick told the crowd that the state had created a protected class. He said politicians found ways to send millions of taxpayer dollars through nonprofits and NGOs serving immigrant communities, and this went unnoticed for years. He claimed the new law only appeared after he started investigating and releasing exposés across California. Assemblymember Mia Bonta, who wrote AB 2624 and is married to Attorney General Rob Bonta, said the bill does not restrict filming in public, does not ban investigative journalism, and only applies to people enrolled and certified in Safe at Home. However, the bill's text says otherwise. Nick explained the demand-letter provision on camera: a provider enrolled in Safe at Home can give him a written demand, and from that point he cannot publish the video.

What is even more insane is that one of those nonprofits even helped write the bill. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles is listed as a co-sponsor in the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee's April analysis. Nick told the crowd that CHIRLA has received over $80 million in taxpayer money. IRS filings for the four years through June 2025 show $80.7 million, which is about 68 percent of its total income. That's a huge amount.

Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, said the day before the event, that he is asking the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to review AB 2624 and try to block it before it takes effect on October 1, 2027. DeMaio has called the law unconstitutional and pointed out that his division is already challenging other state laws in court. He also said that without federal action, the law will not be tested until the state uses it against a journalist, which could take years and cost more than most independent journalists can afford. Nick shared his own view on the 2027 date, saying that a state confident in this law would have started enforcing it right away, and the delay is meant to make people lose interest.

Nick stressed that the people in the crowd were the reason for the event. He thanked them at the start and end of his speech, especially for coming and supporting the work that brought him there. Before speaking, he signed everything handed to him, including a baby, and several people stopped to pray for him.

As usual, a smaller group of Antifa counter-protesters showed up and got close enough that California Highway Patrol officers had to separate the two sides. Two people were handcuffed and removed within the first ten minutes, and more arrests followed. Read the full story below.

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While most participants at the Nick Shirley rally yesterday were there to speak out against AB 2624, a smaller group of Antifa members showed up to cause problems. Before we highlight the usual Antifa antics, here is what the people who actually came for the bill had to say about it.

One person said no one votes for a bill like this unless they get a kickback from the fraud it protects. Another asked why keep paying into a system California won't fix, especially when the state would rather punish those who expose the problem. The conversation shifted to the people behind the bill, with some arguing that those trying to silence Nick are the same ones his investigations target. One man simply said he would take a bullet for Nick.

Antifa members showed up at the Capitol wearing masks and carrying communist flags. Someone from Nick's team asked one of them why they opposed Nick Shirley, and the response was simply 'white supremacist.' Soon after, things got physical and California Highway Patrol officers stepped in to break up the groups. People filming saw two Antifa members handcuffed and taken away within the first ten minutes, before Nick spoke. The CHP and Sacramento County Sheriff's Office have not said how many people were arrested.

One counter-protester agreed to talk. She said she fully supports the Stop Nick Shirley Act, believes Nick spreads hate and should be stopped, and that she was there to defend the country against fascism. She also said people like Nick create a mob. During the conversation, she did not deny the fraud or mention the daycares, the money, or any part of the bill she was supporting. This was the kind of argument Antifa made. They came out for a bill they hadn't read, just to oppose someone they didn't know, who had actually looked into it.

Please vote in the poll above, and reply to this email if you want to share your thoughts about Antifa and what happened at the rally yesterday.

On August 20, during the public comment period at a Los Angeles City Council meeting, a man asked the city to fund free hygienic sexual relief clinics for the homeless. He said these clinics would give people a private place for relief, either alone or with a partner if both agreed, all paid for by taxpayers and run by professionals. He said the idea was about equality. Nick Shirley posted a video of this moment online this week, and millions have watched it.

Just to be clear, no council member responded to the idea, and there was no motion or vote. Still, the video went viral, and many people thought Los Angeles was already building these clinics. Jesse Watters showed it on Fox News with the headline that LA wants 'homeless love shacks.' Since the city already has trouble clearing its sidewalks, it is easy to see why people believed it.

Nick went to Skid Row and talked with people who might use these clinics. Everyone he spoke to said no. One man said there are already places for that. Another said the real solution is housing and the money should go there instead. A third person said the idea could lead to more sexual assault.

Nick also pointed out what the proposal did not address. Who would clean these places? Who would check the ages of people coming in, especially in a neighborhood where he says many minors live? The man at the podium only mentioned professional oversight and did not explain more.

Sadly, California and Los Angeles are places where ideas like this are actually considered. What do you think? Reply to this email and let us know your thoughts.