As RedState reported, the egregious California Legislature Democrat supermajority has advanced AB 2624, a bill whose intent is to silence YouTubers like Nick Shirley, California independent journalists like our own Jennifer Van Laar, Lori Mills, Amy Reichert, and Katy Grimes, and even concerned citizens from documenting the corruption and fraud that has become an everyday occurrence in the state.
As my colleague Becky Noble wrote:
Republican California State Assemblyman Carl DeMaio is blasting his state’s Democrats over voting to advance AB2624. The bill would make it a crime to post even a photo of a worker or client of “designated immigration support services” organizations such as CHIRLA (the NGO being investigated for funding anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles and impeding federal immigration enforcement), thus shielding them from scrutiny.
[…]
The bill would also allow people associated with those groups to demand the removal of any videos, even those recorded in public, and impose fines on those who post the videos online. But perhaps the most chilling aspect of this bill, authored by Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, wife of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, is that the primary reason for the bill is to block investigative reporting and intimidate journalists, as well as any sort of watchdog group or even regular citizens, from reporting something that raises an eyebrow.
Read More: Is California Targeting Investigative Journalists? Assemblyman DeMaio Sounds the Alarm
Taxpayer-Funded Riots: Here’s What We Found When We Followed the Money in Los Angeles
Newsom & Bonta’s “big fraud bust” announcements are nothing but theater while the real corruption runs much deeper in California.
Exposing the full scale of this fraud — as Nick Shirley has done — would put people like me at risk under their new bill.
AB 2624 is blatantly… https://t.co/ULA1gOVQYA— Lori Mills (@LoriMills4CA42) April 13, 2026
There you have it. You would think a politician’s wife would recuse herself and draw a bright line between what her husband does in his job and her job as a legislator. Sadly, this is not how Mia Bonta operates. In 2023, then-Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon appointed Mia Bonta to chair an Assembly subcommittee that controlled funding for California’s public safety agencies, including her husband’s AG office. Conflict of interest, much? When journalists rightly called out Bonta on this, she dodged questioning, double-downed, then caved and recused herself from any dealings with her husband’s department. Now, longtime California journalists like those referenced at the beginning of this piece are being assisted by Shirley and several other independent journalists in documenting the rampant fraud in the state, and her husband’s own terrible record that is connected to the cover-up of said fraud. So, first sponsoring this bill, then having the unmitigated gall to defend why she thinks it’s needed, is not a good look.
But as RedState has reported extensively, Mia Bonta has never been concerned about optics.
Despite Bonta’s complaint in the video she posted to X, she is the one who is legislating by tweet. In the post, she claims AB 2624 is being subjected to “MAGA misinformation,” which is why she has been forced to outline the facts surrounding the bill.
Sure, Jan.
WATCH:
I’m here to tell the truth about AB 2624. Let’s stick to the facts. pic.twitter.com/iJ5sPW51sg
— Assemblymember Mia Bonta (@AsmMiaBonta) April 15, 2026
“Hey folks, it’s been a day.” Shorter: I’m getting hammered with the truth, and I cannot stand it.
Bonta continued:
And I’m going to do something that I don’t usually do in response to some MAGA misinformation. Elon Musk and right-wing agitators are intentionally misrepresenting my legislation, AB 2624. Because they believe that people who have dedicated their careers to serve communities should be silenced and forced into the shadows.
Bonta did not like that Elon Musk called this bill out for what it is, and she is using that, and “MAGA” as a dog whistle to get her own base riled up.
So, let’s talk about what my bill actually does. It 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. People who work to help immigrant communities should not have to fear being doxed for doing so. And my bill and the “Safe at Home” program defines this as sharing personal information with the intent to incite, imminent to great bodily harm, or place someone in objectively reasonable fear for their personal safety. AB 2624 extends this existing tool to immigrant service providers, shielding them from having their personal information publicly exposed, and giving them real legal tools to prevent and respond to targeted harassment.
As our Managing Editor, Jennifer Van Laar, pointed out, no one has been targeted or brought to harm through these investigations, but if such a law passes, Democrats can simply say it is happening and then make it so.
And the “intent” thing is the problem. My intent is never to incite harm or place them in reasonable fear for their safety, and I don’t post their addresses – but I have posted their images and family affiliations when relevant
But we all know that Dem officials will SAY it’s… https://t.co/PDwq7k97LU
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) April 14, 2026
But we all know that Dem officials will SAY it’s done with intent to harm
Of course, Bonta insults Van Laar and others by alleging that they cannot tell the difference between journalism and doxing.
If MAGA can’t tell the difference between journalism and doxing, that’s on them, because under my bill there are no provisions related to journalism or fraud. This bill does not infringe on the First Amendment. But sharing the name and address of a front desk worker to intimate 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. I’m going to continue advancing legislation rooted in East Bay values, no matter who tries to silence our voices. Others can legislate by tweet. I’ll stick to policy.
Amendment to AB2624 is co-authored by crime-loving Mia Bonta; it extends privacy protections to immigrant service providers, (similar what was for reproductive and gender‑affirming health‑care workers). It is a threat to transparency and investigative reporting bc it is vague… https://t.co/yQbwrpOQGy
— Liz4SF (@incitafusio) April 13, 2026
Amendment to AB2624 is co-authored by crime-loving Mia Bonta; it extends privacy protections to immigrant service providers, (similar what was for reproductive and gender‑affirming health‑care workers). It is a threat to transparency and investigative reporting bc it is vague enough to…
+ Allow removal of video recordings, even if filmed in public
+ Impose financial fees on journalists or watchdogs who publish such recordings
+ Create a chilling effect on citizen journalism
As California Globe’s Katy Grimes said:
AB 2624 would allow activists and taxpayer-funded organizations to demand the removal of video evidence — even if it captures misconduct in plain view — and threatens journalists with massive financial penalties.
That’s not about public safety — it’s about protecting powerful interests.
We know from the Andy Duong affair, to dethroned former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao and other ick involving the Bontas, this is all about protecting their backsides and the backside of their leftist NGOs and monied friends.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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