Death threats, doxxing, and empty Dem seats: The high cost of Nick Shirley’s fight against Minnesota welfare fraud

Life keeps getting crazier for 23-year-old YouTuber Nick Shirley — the overnight independent journalist who ripped the curtain back on Minnesota’s Somali-run fraud schemes, bringing the issue to national attention.

Episode one, which has amassed over 141 million views, exposed Somali-run day cares in Minnesota as allegedly fraudulent operations. Shirley’s footage highlighted empty day-care centers, many with locked doors, blacked-out windows, and tight-lipped “staff members,” despite receiving millions in federal and state funding.

Episode two identified fraudulent nonemergency medical transportation companies as the “hub” of the fraud wheel that enables the schemes taking place in day-care centers and other welfare/social services programs.

Shirley’s reporting has not only triggered widespread outrage across the nation but also immediate action from the Trump administration. Shortly after episode one dropped, the Department