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Wait – Did A Blue State Attorney General Just Threaten Independent Journalists

Updated: CORRUPTION

As the Minnesota fraud scandal continues to metastasize, investigators and independent journalists are now widening the lens to other states—Washington included. Once the curtain gets pulled back in one place, it tends to expose how widespread the rot really is.

Earlier reporting highlighted what happened when independent journalist Cam Higby did some old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting at state-funded daycare centers. What he found raised the same uncomfortable questions now dogging Minnesota: facilities that exist on paper, generous public funding, and precious little evidence of legitimate operations on the ground.

In a video posted on X, Higby and a decoy visited the Dhagash Family Childcare. They rang the doorbell, and whoever responded through the Ring camera flatly denied that the location was a childcare facility at all. That alone raises serious questions—especially since the address is registered with the state as a licensed center for up to nine children and has collected roughly $210,000 in childcare funds this year.

But notice how quickly the focus shifts. Instead of digging into the allegations, the media—as usual—reaches for the tired “Republicans pounce” trope or tries to discredit the messengers. Outlets worked overtime to smear Higby and Minnesota journalist Nick Shirley, rather than ask the obvious questions. CNN even sniffed that Shirley’s reporting lacked proper editorial “fact checks” and “guardrails”—a rich complaint from a network that routinely mistakes narrative protection for journalism.

I couldn’t help but wonder whether Minnesota might try to prosecute Shirley for the audacity of reporting inconvenient facts—and I still wouldn’t rule it out.

Meanwhile, in Washington state, Attorney General Nick Brown appears more interested in running interference for potential fraudsters than in rooting out wrongdoing, going so far as to issue warnings aimed at journalists doing investigative work.

“My office has received outreach from members of the Somali community after reports of home-based daycare providers being harassed and accused of fraud with little to no fact-checking,” Brown wrote.

“We are in touch with the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families regarding the claims being pushed online and the harassment reported by daycare providers. Showing up on someone’s porch, threatening, or harassing them isn’t an investigation. Neither is filming minors who may be in the home. This is unsafe and potentially dangerous behavior,” Brown continued.

“I encourage anyone experiencing threats or harassment to either contact local law enforcement or our office’s Hate Crimes & Bias Incident Hotline at 1-855-225-1010 or http://atg.wa.gov/report-hate.If you think fraud is happening, there are appropriate measures to report and investigate. Go to DCYF’s website to learn more. And where fraud is substantiated and verified by law enforcement and regulatory agencies, people should be held accountable,” he said.

A couple of things.

First of all, you’ll notice he said “experiencing threats or harassment” should call the police or the AG’s office Hate Crimes & Bias Incident Hotline. But since when is asking questions about fraud a “hate crime” or “bias incident” and not constitutionally protected activity under the First Amendment?

Second, the state AG claims he will fraudsters accountable – ONLY if the fraud is “substantiated and verified by law enforcement and regulatory agencies.” Which means he has no intention of holding anyone “accountable.” Period.

This is nothing more than a threat against independent journalists who dare to do the work that Brown and the media refuse to do.

“It is the duty of journalists to visit taxpayer-funded nonprofits and businesses to investigate where you have failed,” wrote independent investigative journalist Andy Ngo on X. “The journalists have documented their visits on camera and there is no harassing or threatening behavior. You are trying to threaten journalists by telling people to call police with false allegations of a hate crime.”

“Why would a “home-based daycare” in Washington state receive a dollar of my tax money? Why is the attorney general finger wagging about “fact checking”? what the hell?” another social media user asked.

Of course we know the answer to that. “Fact checking” is Brown’s way of saying he’ll simply ignore any and all reporting that doesn’t fit his left-wing Democratic narrative.

“Hey, weren’t you the guy who ignored assault reports from people who were getting attacked for gathering signatures for an initiative?” asked another social media user.

Why yes, yes he was. Signature collectors trying to advance a ballot initiative to protect parental rights and girls’ sports in the state have been attacked, had their petitions stolen or destroyed, and been harassed in public. And through it all, Nick Brown has done exactly nothing.

Brown clearly has a leftist agenda, and he has no intention of ‘cracking down’ on anything that would affect Democrats. As for his threat, the Trump Justice Department took notice and issued a smackdown of its own.

“ANY state official who chills or threatens to chill a journalist’s 1A rights will have some ‘splainin to do. @CivilRights takes potential violations of 18 USC § 242 seriously!” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote on X. “Govern yourselves accordingly!”

Take that, Nick.

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