Right-wing streamer Nick Shirley to speak at Harvard amid barrage of online threats

Tim Dunn, Boston Herald on Sep 8, 2026

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BOSTON — Famed independent journalist Nick Shirley will be attending a “fireside chat” at Harvard University Wednesday night amid a barrage of online threats, and as the anniversary of the assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus approaches.

The discussion with Shirley, hosted by the Harvard Republican Club, will be focused on “exposing waste, fraud and abuse,” according to flyers promoting the event.

“Join the Harvard Republican Club for a fireside chat with Nick Shirley, an independent investigative journalist most famous for his work in 2025 exposing fraud at Somali-run daycare centers in Minnesota,” the club states in an online RSVP form for the event. “He will be speaking on the current U.S. political system, government overreach, fraud, and what young Americans can do to fight back.”

Shirley’s scheduled appearance has been met by an onslaught of online threats, some of which refer to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the one-year anniversary of which falls on Thursday, just a day after Shirley’s event at Harvard.

“Someone can do the funniest thing just before the Kirkiversary,” commented one Instagram user under the username, goldman_writes.

“We will make sure he feels unwelcome. In Massachusetts we don’t accept homophobia, racism and bigotry in any form. Harvard Republicans are fascists. I know this from personal experience,” added another with the username capecodsocialist.

Some painted Shirley as a Republican “propogandist” or a “plant by MAGA and Trump,” while others took shots at his perceived intelligence.

“Do today’s maga republicans only listen to propagandists and lying scum like him?” said a user by the name, omarkahn.

Kirk was shot in the neck in front of hundreds of attendees during a Turning Point event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. Kirk would hold live, back and forth discussions and debates with attendees of his events, typically held on college campuses.

Shirley is responding to the online threats, posting a lengthy message to X asking for donations to fund personal security for him as he travels to speak at colleges and universities across the country.

“I hate that I have to do this, it’s my least favorite part about my life. I knew my life would get even more dangerous when I announced I am suing California and began accepting invitations to speak on college campuses this semester,” Shirley said in reaction to local news coverage of the threats ahead of his Harvard visit.

“I need to raise money again for security. Doing the right thing and exposing evil now puts your life in danger in today’s society. For example, a UC Irvine “lecturer” (teacher) is insinuating it would be funny to assassinate me and leftist are threatening to kill me constantly,” he said.

Shirley went on to write that his personal security costs tens of thousands of dollars per month, something he says is putting a financial strain on his business.

“I will not cower to the radicals or the far left who threaten and plot to kill and destroy our country, yet the $30k–$50k a month it costs me just to stay safe doing my job is unsustainable. I make enough for my needs and my employees, but this added expense produces no return and is unsustainable on my own,” said Shirley.

Kirk’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, 23, faces several charges in the slaying, including aggravated murder, and could face the death penalty after a Utah judge sided with prosecutors and sent his case to trial. Robinson is next due in court October 23.

Shirley has gained national attention investigating waste, fraud and abuse in various U.S. states after he went viral in December 2025 after posting a video alleging fraud at Somali immigrant-ran daycares in Minnesota.

The Herald has requested comment from the Harvard Republican Club.

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