Overview
- On Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, citizen journalist Nick Shirley and America First Legal filed a federal suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California naming Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber and asking the court to stop enforcement of AB 2624.
- AB 2624 expands Safe at Home–style address and privacy protections to workers and volunteers at immigration‑support organizations and makes it unlawful to publicly post covered personal information with specified intent while authorizing civil damages and criminal penalties.
- Shirley’s complaint, led by attorney John W. Howard and America First Legal, argues the law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Constitution’s ban on ex post facto laws and seeks both preliminary and permanent injunctions before the law’s Oct. 7, 2027 operative date.
- The plaintiffs say the bill was enacted in response to Shirley’s reporting, citing a compressed timeline of his California investigations, public statements by officials and the bill’s introduction by Assemblymember Mia Bonta, and they contend its vague notice-and-takedown mechanism gives private parties power to trigger liability for past publications.
- The case has national implications because it tests pre-enforcement First Amendment doctrine, raises questions about balancing safety and public oversight, and could shape how independent journalists report on alleged fraud in taxpayer‑funded programs while the legal fight and political debate play out.