Tipsheet

Did a Politico Writer Just Incite Violence Against Journalists Investigating Minnesota's Fraud?

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  December 30, 2025 2:00 PM

Not too terribly long ago, Townhall reported how the anti-gun Giffords organization was pushing to end "stand your ground" laws in the country. They claimed, without evidence, that such laws "encourage people to shoot first and ask questions later," even though "stand your ground laws" don't require the use of a firearm or provide special protections for the use of a firearm. It was an attack on the principle of self-defense itself.

But the Left hasn't met a law they don't like when they can use it to their advantage (even incorrectly). That's where Politico's Josh Gerstein comes in. It seems Gerstein is unhappy that guys like Nick Shirley are doing the sort of reporting journalists in the mainstream media used to do, and he openly fantasized about harm befalling those independent journalists thanks to "stand your ground" laws.

"At some point," Gerstein wrote, "the amateur effort to knock on doors of home daycares intersects with robust stand-your-ground laws."

Wow.

Of course, that's not what "stand your ground" laws do. Those laws remove a "duty to retreat" when a person is threatened in a place they have a legal right to be. There also must be a reasonable belief that deadly force is necessary because there's an imminent threat of serious injury or death.

An independent journalist knocking on the door of a supposedly public business, whether located in a home or not, is not a threat.

On top of that, Minnesota doesn't have "stand your ground" laws.

Gerstein was ratioed into oblivion for his dark take.

"So you are really angry enough about "amateurs" doing your job you're openly wishcasting for their deaths. Well, Somalis are typically a violent people, so you may be in luck," wrote one user.

"Sounds like a thinly veiled threat wrapped in smug Beltway snark.Lib media can’t defend the fraud, can’t explain the money, can’t name names...so they pivot to casually normalizing violence like it’s a zoning issue," wrote another.

"Someone claiming to be a "Senior Legal Affairs Reporter" should know how Stand Your ground works before wishcasting that reporters get shot through the door," said radio host Jorge Bonilla.

"Stand your ground isn’t castle doctrine, and castle doctrine doesn’t apply to someone just knocking on your door in a peaceful manner. But we have arrived at journos fantasizing about killing people who uncover welfare fraud," wrote user Sunnyright.

"Funny how calls to shoot people for doing shoe-leather investigative reporting only emerge when it's reporting the national political press isn't doing & doesn't want done," added another.

That's precisely it. The mainstream media doesn't want this reporting done because it a) makes Democrats look bad, b) targets Somalis (and that's "racist), and c) proves President Trump right about immigration and fraud. It's about circling the wagons and protecting the narrative.

Violently, it seems.