The day after Christmas, far-right YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a video claiming to have exposed fraud at Somali-owned day care centers in Minnesota. Portions of the 42-minute video – mostly scenes where Shirley is turned away at the day cares – went viral in conservative circles, catching the attention of the Trump administration, which was already at work targeting Minnesota’s Somali community amid its broader war on immigrants.
The video, which has been viewed more than 2.2 million times on YouTube and millions more on other platforms, sparked a renewed crackdown in Minneapolis, with the Department of Homeland Security announcing on Monday it would visit 30 sites suspected of fraud across the city. A DHS official told CBS News Minnesota its agents would focus on a “little of everything,” when asked weather immigration enforcement would be a part of the crackdown. Threatening arrests, the agency posted a video to X in which agents enter a smoke shop and question an employee about a nearby day care center.
This isn’t the first time the conservative YouTuber has gotten the attention of the Trump administration. Shirley participated in President Donald Trump’s “Roundtable on Antifa” in October after an altercation at an anti-ICE protest. At age 23,his videos aren’t merely influencing his audiences – they’re also influencing government action.
This worries immigrant rights advocates, who fear that the fallout from Shirley’s video will only worsen the harm already being done to Minnesota’s immigrant communities at a time when Trump has taken to calling Somali people “garbage” at his rallies.
“The vrey real-world result is that it’s going to exacerbate the situation that we have in Minnesota right now where we have a lot of people,including U.S. citizens or people with lawful status being arrested and detained by ICE,” said Ana Pottratz Acosta, who leads the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School.
The video, she said, reinforces xenophobic tropes about the Somali community, specifically tying the community to fraud. Pottratz Acosta said she was worried the increase in DHS visits to day cares could be a pretext to simultaneously conduct immigration detentions.
“They’re doing these visits at day care sites under the auspices of conducting a fraud investigation, but if they happen to see anyone who fits a profile, they might be arrested,” Pottratz Acosta said.
Shirley’s video builds off of the growing interest in a nonprofit fraud scandal in Minnesota involving a pandemic-era program focused on child hunger, which has resulted in dozens of guilty pleas. The Trump administration claims Minnesota’s fraud issue is much larger, to the sum of $9 billion worth of government funds being fraudulently funneled from social services. Republicans have painted Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, both Democrats up for reelection, as responsible for an alleged lack of oversight. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who is Somali American and Muslim, has also
The Rapid Rise of a Right-Wing Influencer: how One Young Man is Profiting From Anti-Immigrant Sentiment
A young content creator named Jacob Shirley is rapidly gaining traction online by producing videos that amplify right-wing narratives around immigration and crime. What began as prank videos has morphed into a platform for disseminating anti-immigrant rhetoric, often filmed in locations central to right-wing conspiracy theories.
Shirley’s online persona, initially focused on lighthearted content, took a turn after a two-year mission trip to Santiago, Chile, with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Upon his return to the U.S. in late 2023, he began focusing on political topics, notably immigration and crime. This shift was reportedly encouraged by his mother, Brooke, a right-wing influencer herself known as Brooker Tee Jones on TikTok, with over 250,000 followers. According to an interview with Columbia Journalism Review, Brooke initially provided Shirley with questions and talking points for his videos. Her own content echoes similar themes,including unsubstantiated accusations of healthcare fraud against Somali residents in Minnesota.
Shirley’s tactics have become increasingly provocative. In May 2024, he paid day laborers $20 to travel with him to the White House, providing them with signs demanding a meeting with President biden – a stunt documented on YouTube. He also has a pattern of visiting locations at the heart of right-wing anxieties, such as Aurora, Colorado, during the height of concerns surrounding the Tren de Aragua gang.
His most popular video to date, with 6.6 million views, was filmed in El Salvador and expresses sympathy for President Nayib Bukele’s controversial and violent anti-crime crackdown. The video features footage from CECOT, a notorious prison, showcasing incarcerated men engaged in manufacturing school desks and market racks – a practice critics label as forced labor. Inside a CECOT cell block, Shirley stated, “It’s pretty amazing if you think about what Nayib Bukele has been able to do with this country – the streets are as safe as they’ve ever been, as all these guys are out,” gesturing towards the prisoners. He made no mention of the human rights concerns surrounding Bukele’s policies or the conditions within the prison.
Terrorism suspect List in UK Tops 40,000 After MI5 Rechecks
The number of individuals on a UK terrorism suspect list has surged past 40,000 following a extensive re-evaluation by MI5, according to reports. this figure, revealed during a hearing of the House of Lords, includes a significant number of people who have never set foot in the United Kingdom.
Baroness Manningham-Buller, a former director-general of MI5, expressed concern over the scale of the list, questioning the criteria used for inclusion. She highlighted the presence of individuals with no connection to the UK and asked, “At what point does this break out from a revolution to a civil war?”
The list, compiled by British intelligence agency MI5, notably excludes religious identifiers, focusing instead on potential threats. The expansion of the list raises questions about the resources required for monitoring and the potential for overreach in security measures.
The revelation comes amid ongoing debate about counter-terrorism strategies and the balance between national security and civil liberties.
## Viral Video Fuels Anti-Somali Sentiment Amidst Minnesota Daycare Fraud Investigation
A recently viral video alleging widespread fraud within Minnesota’s childcare system is amplifying existing anti-Somali sentiment and coinciding with increased federal scrutiny of Somali and Latin American communities in the Twin Cities. While concerns about fraud in the daycare sector are legitimate and under investigation, experts warn that the video’s narrative risks fueling discrimination and is not a constructive approach to addressing the issue.
The video, created by an individual named Shirley, features claims of fraudulent activity and includes footage of a man attempting to “check rates” at daycare facilities, being afterward escorted out by police. According to the report, the video relies heavily on testimony from a Minnesota resident named David, who alleges he was physically assaulted by Somali men after confronting them about the alleged fraud, describing them as “very, very violent people.”
However, the claims highlighted in the video are not new. local ABC affiliate KSTP and the state government have previously investigated and reported on issues within the daycare system. In response to growing concerns, Minnesota officials began increasing oversight of daycare funding earlier this year.
The situation is further complicated by a recent surge in federal law enforcement activity.Sence early December, federal agents have been profiling and detaining individuals who appear to be Somali, including U.S. citizens,as reported by Minnesota Public Radio. This crackdown also extends to Latin American immigrant communities, with agents searching for undocumented residents.
These actions are occurring alongside rhetoric from political figures, including former President Trump, who have falsely claimed the presence of “Somalian gangs” “roving the streets” of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as he stated on social media.
Experts emphasize that focusing on community-based stereotypes is counterproductive. “There are bad actors in every community and just because certain people commit fraud, it doesn’t mean that every person who fits that same demographic profile is a bad actor,” said Pottraz Acosta, as quoted in the original report. She argues that increased oversight is the most effective way to combat fraud, and the current crackdown, exacerbated by the viral video, is not the appropriate solution.
Furthermore, the report notes that anti-Somali sentiment is a pre-existing issue in Minnesota, with residents facing unsubstantiated accusations of funding the Somali militant group al-Shabab. The current narrative, both locally and nationally, risks reinforcing these harmful stereotypes and contributing to discrimination against the Somali community.