Vermont State Police Detain O'Keefe Over Questions About Cease-and-Desist Letter to Whistleblower

On Saturday, September 21st, Vermont State Trooper Daniel Bohnyak held O'Keefe for asking for comment on Border Patrol Agent Zachary Apotheker's whistleblower case. Apotheker details in the film "Line in the Sand" how underage girls are being sent to unknown locations without proper biometrics and MS-13 gang members are receiving free healthcare. O'Keefe visited the homes of three Border Patrol supervisors—Michael Shick, Richard Fortunato, and Robert Garcia—seeking comment on the circumstances behind the cease-and-desist letter sent to Apotheker, who exposed misconduct at the northern Vermont-Canada border.

At 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 hurriedly drove away, avoiding further accountability.

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 more hostile, threatening, “I’m going to call the police!”

When O'Keefe 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 it was actually on a neighborhood side street.

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.

Initially, Newsweek reported that Vermont State Police claimed O'Keefe "was not detained." However, the publication has since issued a correction, acknowledging that O'Keefe was indeed detained, supported by video evidence of the incident.

[georgina]

dirty dirty dirty PD. Upholding the Constitution, great work James.

[scottanddebranelson]

if you are free to leave then you are free to stay.

[Joe-pchs]

If that trooper was legitimately worried about being parked on a "highway", he wouldn't be standing smak dab in the middle of it.

[jasonfairbanks]

I called williston State police barracks and talked to a lady as well as leaving a message with Colonel Matthew Birmingham(Vt state director of State Police) about this and urged them to watch this video. Thank you for all you do James!

[shrapnelface]

So child trafficking is cool for them, but pulling over on the side of the road is where they draw the line.

[SiegeRetardius]

Unsurprising behavior from the state that keeps electing Bernie Sanders.

[lowqualityantenna]

They're not here to protect us. They're here to protect the bosses from us.

[mikefuston]

cop trying to violate the 1st admenment rights

[shuffman]

He said you were in the middle of a highway 😂. You were in the side of a residential road. That’s crazy

[KazuhiraMiller]

Stop tolerating criminals with badges stepping all over your rights

[michaelanderson]

Crazy how many "law enforcement agents" dont care about the downfall of their own nation

[e.b.]

They lost over 315, 000 unaccompanied children!

[CybRonin]

This cop is a piece of garbage. I like how they immediately go the "can I see some i.d.?"

[ColonelStraker]

"Hey, James.I'm just trying to do my job and feed my family. Boo hoo."
What the officer doesn't realize is that his kids are going to grow up in the corrupt world that he's contributing to.

[jstormy]

When they started saying, "Just doing my job" during covid, I stopped taking cops seriously.

[sarahlynn]

After I saw the California Highway Patrol surround the State Capitol building in full riot gear while arresting peaceful vax mandate and lockdown protesters while at the same time allowing BLM rioters to destroy property and terrorize citizens, I became extremely less supportive of the police. They have become almost like our enemies. I kept hearing the excuses they were just doing their job. Meanwhile my husband and I were willing to lose everything, including our home because, we said no to the clot shot. So the "just doing our jobs" and "we need our paychecks to feed our families" is just cowardice! I was actually very disappointed at how many cowards live within America today, especially cops where many are veterans and made a vow to uphold the constitution. America is not free anymore. It's on the brink of tyranny and it's made possible by these fools and their cowardly excuses. Do they not realize they are ruining the future for their children by not taking a stand? God help us!

[mespo]

Don't answer any questions, James. No acknowledgment of who drove; no reasonable articuable suspicion of criminality; no lawful detention.

[cbk-teru]

GAURDING HOMES FROM REPORTERS.... SOUNDS LIKE AN ABUSE OF POWER

[baptistpope]

This is not going to go well for Vermont state police.

[KazuhiraMiller]

See how the criminal cop keeps talking over O'keefe so he can't defend himself. Yea stop letting them do that