Reporter launches thinly veiled threat against journalist Nick Shirley who exposed Somali daycare fraud
Politico senior legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein claimed in a Monday post on X that citizen journalists investigating Somali scammers could be shot under “stand your ground” laws, which some commenters viewed as a threat.
Independent journalist Nick Shirley posted video Friday showing his visits to multiple Somali-run day care centers in Minnesota which did not appear to have any children there, including one that received $4 million in taxpayer funds. Gerstein, though he later denied the threat, hinted that violent confrontations could be imminent as other journalists began probing the alleged fraud, prompting backlash in the comments.
At some point, the amateur effort to knock on doors of home daycares intersects with robust stand-your-ground laws
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) December 30, 2025
“At some point, the amateur effort to knock on doors of home daycares intersects with robust stand-your-ground laws,” Gerstein posted on X Monday, prompting backlash from podcaster Robby Starbuck, WMAL host Julie Gunlock, WBT host Pete Kaliner and Fox News Digital politics managing editor Will Ricciardella, among others.
“To observe that something is likely to happen or there’s a serious risk of it happening is not to advocate for it happening,” Gerstein added in a reply posted on X Tuesday, after commenters questioned if he was expressing a desire for Shirley or other journalists probing Somali scammers and their fraud schemes to be shot. Shirley reported that during his effort to probe the day care centers, Somali migrants stalked him.
Minnesota is not a “stand your ground” state, according to the United States Concealed Carry Association, but instead has imposed a “duty to retreat” before using force. The state also lacks a constitutional provision protecting the right to keep and bear arms, according to the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA).
To observe that something is likely to happen or there’s a serious risk of it happening is not to advocate for it happening
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) December 30, 2025
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota went on an anti-Second Amendment rant during a Dec. 16 press event during which he signed two executive orders targeting firearms, one of which would coerce insurance companies to hand over information regarding firearms to the state.
“We are going to use that data to do the research the federal government is too cowardly to do, to understand that this is a public health crisis that could be attacked like any other public health crisis if we simply had the courage,” Walz claimed. “So I encourage those insurance companies to get your lawyers, if that’s what you want to do and not provide this data, but I can tell you, this thing is rock solid and you’re going to provide it.”
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