Conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley’s mother, Brooke Shirley, has defended him amid backlash over his viral video claiming widespread fraud in Minneapolis day care centers, a report that has sparked significant controversy online.
On Friday, Shirley uploaded a 42-minute video to the streaming platform, alleging that 10 day cares operated by members of Minneapolis’ Somali-American community had misappropriated “upwards of $100 million” in taxpayer funds, as reported by The Independent.
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Nick Shirley’s mum defends son amid backlash
Responding to the controversy surrounding her son’s video, Brooke appeared on Newsmax’s National Report Tuesday evening, criticising local lawmakers for not preventing the alleged fraud sooner. She said, “The way I think of it is, if your house is burning down, are you going to try to stop the fire or are you just going to let it burn?” She continued, “Our lawmakers in America have just let our country burn,” as reported by the outlet.
She went on to rebuke the Democratic leadership of the state as she said, “They’re the ones to blame. They’re the ones who have allowed this to happen.” Brooke added, “The Somalians have a perfect scheme. They found a perfect way to take taxpayer dollars. But the bottom line is our government leaders are the ones who allowed it.”
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Nick Shirley’s mum criticizes Tim Walz
Aiming at Tim Walz, Shirley accused him of taking insufficient action to address the alleged issue and of criticising her son when he tried to expose it. Brooke said, “Tim Walz knew this was going on, and instead of doing anything about it, he calls people who are trying to call it out, like my son Nick Shirley, a white supremacist.”
She added, “They’re not saying, ‘Thank you for showing this. Thank you for showing what’s going on.’ Instead, we’re called white supremacists because we’re trying to save our country.”
According to The Independent, at a December 23 press conference, Walz connected conservative outrage over the alleged fraud in Minneapolis to white supremacy, though he has not explicitly called Nick a white supremacist.
Brooke alleged that her son had received backing from local residents who, unlike officials, valued his efforts. She said, “The people of Minnesota are thankful for this.” The mother of the YouTuber added, “It’s literally taking people like me and my son… We’re the ones out there showing what’s going on because people are too afraid.”