“SPRAY ALL OF THEM”: James O’Keefe physically assaulted by Eagles Point Security guarding the secret Ramada San Diego Hotel at 631 Camino. O’Keefe’s team posed as pest control and gained access to a white board showing all the organizations and names involved in the operation, including Catholic Charities and UC San Diego.
In O’Keefe Media Group’s ongoing investigation into public-private partnerships between government and nonprofit non-governmental organizations (NGOs) trafficking illegal immigrants into the country, James O’Keefe and the OMG crew investigated the Ramada Inn by Wyndham in the heart of San Diego. There, OMG found workers more than willing to protect the secrecy of the hotel harboring illegal immigrants – activities reportedly being funded by Catholic and Jewish NGOs in an increasingly familiar situation.
Shrouded in secrecy with blacked out fencing surrounding the property, heavy curtains shielding hotel occupants from view, and security guards employed by Eagles Point Security Services manning the premises around the clock, what exactly is the Ramada Inn hiding? Unable to book a room (an online search shows the Ramada Inn sold out for the foreseeable future), James O’Keefe attempted to access the property as an undercover pest control technician before he was turned away by the hotel General Manager.
When he and OMG crew returned at night, they saw outside in plain view on a whiteboard the names and contact information for staff and contractors involved in the secret Ramada Inn operation. From Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego (CCDSD) to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), University of California San Diego (UCSD), Eagles Point Security, Certified Security Supervision and Management (CSSM), and Ramada Suites, the whiteboard included program managers, site leads, “logs,” data, “Coms” (communications), and point people revealing just how varied and complex the operation is. Why are all these organizations involved in harboring illegal immigrants? What exactly are the Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego, whose tax forms show distributed nearly $16M to “domestic” individuals in 2021, doing in conjunction with publicly funded entities like the University of California San Diego and the California Department of Social Services? Where are they getting all of this money and what is happening to the illegal immigrants and particularly the children at the Ramada Inn?
Wearing a Press vest, O’Keefe attempted to speak with several different security guards who became progressively more aggressive. The first commanded O’Keefe not to move. The second made snide comments to O’Keefe. The third guard, Jovann Jones, taunted O’Keefe as he violently assaulted O’Keefe and closed the fence onto him. Despite O’Keefe reciting child trafficking statistics and asking if children were inside the Ramada Inn, Jones responded several times “What are you talking about?” Jones further attempted to gaslight O’Keefe asking, “Are you making that up right now?” even though children were visible on the property. Jones claimed, “Yeah I’m just doing my job…” before saying, “Spray all of them,” a reference to pepper spraying O’Keefe and OMG crew offensively in violation of California Penal Code Section 22810. Laughing, Jones further escalated his aggression, placing his hand on his gun and moving threateningly towards O’Keefe for the simple audacity of exercising his First Amendment rights by asking questions as a member of the Press.
Other workers revealed similar sentiments. After one worker told O’Keefe she sees buses pull up to the Ramada Inn at 10am every morning, an undercover OMG reporter spoke with a bus driver who detailed taking illegal immigrants from the Ramada Inn to multiple places, including the airport, but admitted he did not understand how the system worked. “It’s just me doing my job,” he claimed and confirmed making about $21/hr. When O’Keefe asked a security guard if he knew what was happening inside the Ramada Inn, he nodded and stated plainly, “You know what’s happening here” and “Yeah, everybody knows.” He wouldn’t say explicitly what was happening but knowingly told O’Keefe “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t know.” Pressed, the guard said, “Well go and ask the Governor he can answer all the questions for you” before confirming he gets paid “More than you, bro.” O’Keefe also spoke with illegal immigrants, who stated they came from China and crossed the border in Washington, as they were driving a car from the Ramada Inn. The Chinese illegal immigrants confirmed they stayed at the Ramada Inn for free and claimed they were in America for fun and travel. Each individual, even when confronted with the reality of children being trafficked, expressed a careless resignation of their complicity.
Update: Yesterday, James O’Keefe had a 20-minute conversation with representatives of Eagles Point Security Services. Addressing the violent threats by their employee Jovann Jones to O’Keefe and OMG crew to “Spray all of them,” the VP of Operations for Eagles Point Security Services stated: “We are not supportive to any employee is acting not within the company procedures. So, a proper course of action will be taken.” He clarified that Eagles Point Security Services will first launch an investigation before taking action should they find Jones violated any company policies. One would presume a violation of California Penal Code would also be a violation of Eagles Point Security Services policy, but we shall see…
