A MAN is offering a controversial service that promises to clear out squatters fast – without waiting for police or the courts.
Armed with swords, tear gas, and military tactics, his business targets people living illegally in homes.
James Jacobs runs a company called ASAP Squatter Removal[/caption]
Jacob uses swords, weapons, and military-style tactics to kick out illegal occupants[/caption]
Jacobs pitches himself as the solution for desperate property owners[/caption]
Based in Oakland, California, James Jacobs runs a company called ASAP Squatter Removal, marketing himself as a one-man alternative to slow-moving law enforcement and drawn-out eviction cases.
Police often avoid these disputes, treating them as landlord-tenant issues for the civil courts, while eviction lawsuits can drag on for months.
Jacobs pitches himself as the solution for desperate property owners.
For a fee, he and his team will move in, board up properties, and force squatters out using a mix of surveillance, intimidation, and, if necessary, weapons, The Oaklandside reported.
He boasts that jobs are often completed within days, unlike the months-long eviction process.
“We’re the only company that uses swords – we love swords,” Jacobs said, describing how he trains his “cadets” in melee combat.
His company’s website features dramatic photos of armed squatters – some pulled from gun rights films, stocks images, or cartel articles.
Jacobs himself is pictured wielding a sword and even a grenade.
ASAP Squatter Removal is one of several outfits in the state, including “Squatter Squad” in Southern California, but Jacobs claims his is the only one with a Yelp page.
He admits few public records exist about his business.
It’s not registered with the California Secretary of State, though he says paperwork is pending.
Still, videos online show him and contractors boarding up homes and patrolling properties.
He insists that some details are secret due to client’s non-disclosure agreements.
The Bay Area’s housing crisis has fueled the demand for these services.
Expert Advice: Actions to take if you have a squatter
The U.S. Sun’s Emma Crabtree spoke to real estate attorney Paul Golden about what property owners can do when dealing with squatters. Here is what he advised:
Police
- Call the police and hope they are successful in removing the unwanted individual(s), he said.
‘Self-Help Method’
- This is a risky method of evicting squatters but is accepted by at least one New York court “in certain circumstances,” Golden said.
- Using this method, property owners “physically remove the squatter(s).”
- However, if the person is deemed to have been ejected “forcefully or unlawfully,” then property owners may face paying damages and even be “subject to a civil penalty and be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
Court Filing
- The third option is to go the legal route and file a summary proceeding after issuing a 10-day notice to those occupying the property.
- The downside to this option, Golden warned, is that “in New York City, it could take months before the court would finally issue a warrant.”
- It may take even longer for a date to be set for a city marshal to remove the squatter.
Oakland alone has more than 5,500 homeless residents while thousands of homes sit empty.
Squatting has long existed in the city, but Jacobs says today’s occupants are more organized and, in his words, criminal.
“I’d much rather make a squatter homeless than have a landlord lose property,” he said.
California law lets squatters pursue ownership after five years, much faster than other states.
And Oakland’s thinly staffed police department rarely responds quickly, if at all.
Sheriff officials stress they can only act after a valid court order, urging property owners to stick to legal channels.
Landlord groups say the rise of “vigilante removers” is a direct reaction to police reluctance, though they warn it’s dangerous for both sides.
Jacobs argues he uses legal tactics, pointing to California’s castle doctrine, which allows residents to defend themselves with force inside their home.
His “secret weapon” is signing temporary leases at the properties he’s hired to secure, making him a legal tenant who can invoke self-defence laws against squatters.
“We’re not gun-happy,” Jacobs said.
“Why do police do their jobs and put their lives on the line? Somebody has to.”
His arsenal includes assault rifles, gas masks, body armor, smokescreens, and even high-frequency sound blasts he claims can “cause short-term psychosis” to drive people out.
In one case, he went undercover as a “homeless meth addict” outside a squat, only to be asked to watch the property.
He used the opportunity to board it up and toss belongings.
Jobs can be risky.
His online job application warns contractors they could be “injured, killed, or arrested.”
“I constantly tell my guys, ‘Hey, try and make sure you’re not gonna kill someone,’” Jacobs said.
Not all landlords are convinced, but some say desperation pushed them to hire him.
West Oakland property owner Todd Pigott paid $12,500 for five days of surveillance and removal services after police ignored repeated calls.
Jacobs and his team cleared out the squatters, boarded up the home, and stationed contractors to guard it.
Pigott called the approach “professional and very methodical.”
One contractor, Iraq War veteran Arthur Gutierrez, even moved into the property for 90 days after another attempted break-in.
“It falls back onto society and lawmakers for not providing a solution,” Gutierrez said, but added the work gave him purpose after dealing with PTSD.
Tenant attorneys slam the practice as vigilante justice, saying the legal system already favors landlords and that calling squatters “gangs” misrepresents most people seeking shelter.
But Jacobs is defiant. “If you don’t believe in what you do, is life worth living?” he said.
ASAP Squatter Removal didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
The Bay Area’s housing crisis has fueled the demand for these services[/caption]
The company’s website features dramatic photos of armed squatters – some pulled from gun rights films, stocks images, or cartel articles[/caption]
