In his video alleging fraud at Somali-owned day care centers in Minneapolis, right-wing YouTuber Nick Shirley was led around the city by a purported whistleblower called only “David.” Shirley — and outlets like Fox News that credulously picked up the influencer’s video — credited “David” by first name only.

While Shirley’s video portrays the man as a party interested in purported fraud because he observed day care centers near his office in downtown Minneapolis, David, it turns out, is actually a political operative with connections to the Minnesota state House.

Shirley’s main source is a lobbyist and one-time right-wing candidate for Minnesota attorney general whose full name is David Hoch. Accounts bearing his name have a long online history posting about the Somali community in Minnesota. A TikTok and a recently deleted Instagram account posted almost exclusively on the subject — including derogatory statements about Somalis and Muslims.

“EVERY Somali in MN is engaged in fraud. ALL of them.”

“EVERY Somali in MN is engaged in fraud. ALL of them,” Hoch posted on the now-deleted Instagram account.

In November, he posted, “Even the Blacks have had enough of the demon Muslims.”

Hoch’s last name was not given in Shirley’s video, but The Intercept identified him using information in the video itself cross-referenced with publicly available materials.

According to the video, Hoch received information for his campaign against Somali day care centers from the Minnesota state House. Emails shown in the video reveal he got state-funding figures for specific centers from a Republican staffer named Joe Marble.

Neither Hoch nor Marble responded to requests for comment.

Marble works as a committee administrator for the Minnesota House Republicans, as well as a research consultant for the House GOP Caucus, according to his LinkedIn profile. Marble and Hoch ran two lobbying groups together years ago, including one involved with the gambling industry. The pair were elementary and high school classmates.