Far-right influencer Nick Shirley has accepted an invitation from the Conservative Political Action Conference to speak at the group’s 2026 event in Grapevine, Texas, later this month.

“CPAC is proud to announce that independent journalist and conservative influencer Nick Shirley is a confirmed speaker for CPAC USA 2026 in Grapevine, Texas, March 25-28,” CPAC wrote in a post to X on Monday.

Shirley did not respond to a request for comment.

The 23-year-old influencer gained recognition in conservative circles late last year following a viral YouTube video of his that made dubious claims about alleged fraud involving Minnesota’s Somali community.

“This dude has done far more useful journalism than any of the winners of the 2024 @pulitzercenter prizes,” Vice President JD Vance wrote of Shirley in a post on X at the time.

“MINNESOTA FRAUDSTERS WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE! The videos from Nick Shirley have shed tremendous light on the situation in Minnesota, and the Department of Justice will continue to lead the effort to identify and prosecute fraud,” the official White House X account posted in January.

The video shows Shirley attempting to visit what he claims are largely empty daycare facilities in the greater Minneapolis area, claiming he wanted to sign up a child for daycare. He then lobs questions at alleged employees about failing to provide daycare services despite receiving federal funds to do so. Shirley later claimed to have exposed $110 million in fraud.

Following Shirley’s questionable investigation, the Trump administration froze federal funding for child care in Minnesota and deployed 2,000 federal troops to the state as part of its immigration crackdown, CNN reported in January.

However, many of the facilities featured in Shirley’s video had been audited, according to Tikki Brown, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

“Each of the facilities mentioned in the video has been visited at least once in the last six months as part of our typical licensing process,” Brown said during a virtual press conference addressing Shirley’s claims. “There have been ongoing investigations with several of those centers. None of those investigations uncovered findings of fraud.”

Brown questioned the time frame of Shirley’s visits to the daycare facilities and whether he did so during normal operating hours.

Additionally, independent news outlet The 19th reported the office of the Minnesota Inspector General conducted unannounced compliance visits to nine of the 10 daycare centers featured in Shirley’s video, finding all but one were operating normally, with children in attendance.

As for the other two facilities shown in the video, one had not yet opened for business that day when state inspectors visited, and the other had been closed for several years and hadn’t received any federal money during that time, according to The 19th.

Since the video, Shirley has testified before Congress and launched another “investigation” into voter fraud in California. He was also brought as a guest to the State of the Union by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.)

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