Independent journalist Nick Shirley and the America First Legal Foundation are taking California to federal court, arguing that a new state law could place serious constitutional limits on journalists and independent investigators who expose alleged fraud involving taxpayer-funded programs.
The federal lawsuit, filed September 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, names California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber as defendants. The case, Shirley v. Bonta, challenges provisions of Assembly Bill 2624 and asks the court to prevent the state from enforcing them.
At the center of the dispute is California’s expansion of its Safe at Home program, a system originally established in 1999 to protect people whose personal information could expose them to danger.
Shirley has become increasingly prominent for his online investigations into organizations and programs that receive public funding. His reporting initially attracted widespread attention in late 2025 following investigations into alleged problems involving Somali-operated daycare centers in Minnesota.
