By Guy Page
A video about human trafficking seen already by more than 70,000 viewers on the O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) YouTube channel raises questions about the role of the Vermont State Police preventing investigative journalist James O’Keefe from approaching the home of the Swanton Sector Border Patrol chief, after he had already approached two other BP supervisors’ homes.
Was VSP merely responding to a homeowner request, or was there more coordinated VSP involvement and interaction with the Border Patrol? Does Vermont’s status as a Sanctuary State have any bearing on VSP stopping press from asking BP officials at their homes? VDC has reached out to the state police (see below) and will publish responses as soon as received.
The video depicts a Vermont State Trooper first asking investigative journalist James O’Keefe to leave, then detaining him, then giving him a notice of trespass. The encounter came after O’Keefe approached two other Border Patrol supervisors at their homes, in pursuit of a story about human trafficking.
The video shows that on Saturday, September 21, Vermont State Trooper Daniel Bohnyak first told O’Keefe to leave, then – after O’Keefe refused to leave – detained him, noting that his vehicle was in the road. O’Keefe and Bohnyak are seen standing outside of (O’Keefe says) Border Patrol, Swanton Sector Chief Agent Robert Garcia’s home.
A VSP statement earlier this week said the encounter took place in Jericho. “ Further investigation suggested one member of the group approached the homeowner feigning car trouble. When the homeowner offered assistance, the group began to question the homeowner on a completely different issue relating to his occupation,” Major David Peterson told VDC. and that O’Keefe was there in a matter related to the resident’s employment. Border Patrol was not mentioned.
Peterson said that “One of the individuals was reported to be holding a microphone. The homeowner requested the group be issued a notice of trespass for his property.”
The feigning of car trouble is consistent with O’Keefe’s undercover style of investigative journalism, which he made famous when associated with Project Veritas.
On the video, O’Keefe is seen telling Bohnyak – son of longtime Orange County Sheriff Bill Bohnyak – he’s there to ask Garcia for comment on Border Patrol Agent Zachary Apotheker’s comments in O’Keefe’s film “Line in the Sand,” now on the Tucker Carlson Network, how underage girls are being sent to unknown locations without proper biometrics and MS-13 gang members are receiving free healthcare.
O’Keefe said he visited the homes of three Border Patrol supervisors—Michael Shick, Richard Fortunato, and Garcia—seeking comment on the circumstances behind the cease-and-desist letter sent to Apotheker, who exposed misconduct at the northern Vermont-Canada border.
The video shows that O’Keefe first went to Shick’s home. O’Keefe asked, “Are you Michael Shick?” Shick, visibly uncomfortable, responded, “No, I’m not.” As O’Keefe pressed further, showing Shick’s photograph to confirm his identity, Shick got on an ATV parked nearby and drove away.
At Richard Fortunato’s residence, O’Keefe and his crew were met by Fortunato’s wife, who opened the door and immediately ordered, “You need to leave!” As O’Keefe attempted to explain that he was there to speak to her husband, she became louder, saying, “I’m going to call the police!” She also threatened to let the dogs out.
When O’Keefe later arrived in Garcia’s neighborhood, the Vermont State Police were waiting in the street, in the front of his house. “We’re simply asking for comment,” O’Keefe stated, emphasizing his rights as a journalist. Initially, Vermont State Trooper Daniel Bohnyak told O’Keefe and his crew they were “free to leave,” but moments later changed his stance, saying, “Right now, you are not free to leave.”
The stated reason for detaining O’Keefe was that his car was allegedly “parked in the middle of a public highway,” though O’Keefe says it was actually on a neighborhood side street. It is unclear from the video how far O’Keefe’s car was pulled over onto the side of the road.
Despite standing on public property, O’Keefe was issued a trespassing notice, warning him not to return to the homes of the Border Patrol officers. Reflecting on the incident, O’Keefe remarked, “In a world where 500,000 children are being moved in three years… the Vermont State Police are spending their days detaining journalists for asking questions.”
VDC emailed Peterson and Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison at 10:30 AM this morning, requesting answers by noon to these questions:
1) Is it true that VSP sent officers to most or all of BP officers’ homes Saturday night? If so, was this in expectation of contact with O’Keefe?
2) Was this assistance requested by BP in an organizational capacity, or by the individual members?
3) Requested or not, why did VSP see the need to send out troopers proactively to BP homes?
4) Vermont is a sanctuary state – generally speaking ‘hands off’ on participating with federal immigration officials, including BP. While the Model Fair and Impartial Policing statement doesn’t specifically cover running interference between BP residences and reporters, it does promote a ‘let them do their job and don’t help them do it’ approach. Is VSP’s intervention in agreement with the spirit of the Model Fair and Impartial Policing statement?
As of 12:57 PM VDC had not received a response to the 10:30 AM request.
Some content in this story has been republished from the OMG YouTube page.