Bay Area homeowners are hiring a sword-wielding man to help them kick squatters out of empty properties: ‘The average squatter has no melee experience’

Homeowners are turning to James Jacobs’ services to kick squatters out of empty homes, which includes sword-wielding

A sword-wielding man is becoming a popular option for homeowners in Northern California who want help evicting squatters from empty properties.

On the official ASAP Squatter Removal website, owner James Jacobs highlights a 95%+ success rate and leverages his combat training and mixed martial arts experience to remove squatters from vacant properties.

“We are the only squatter removal service that actively defends your property. While others rely solely on law enforcement relationships – often leading to delays and failed removals – we bring real-world combat training and experience to the table,” Jacobs’ site reads.

James Jacobs says he helps kick squatters out with his sword (ASAP Squatter Removal)

“Our team leader has over 20 years of mixed martial arts expertise, advance melee weapons training and four years of NRA AND USCCA certification, ensuring both strategic and physical preparedness for any situation.”

In an interview with The Oaklandside on Sunday, Jacobs said his experience with martial arts was unfamiliar to most squatters when it came to evictions.

“The average squatter has no melee experience,” Jacobs told the online outlet, explaining that he views squatting as theft regardless of the housing crisis and homelessness in the East Bay area.

“I’d much rather make a squatter homeless than have a landlord lose property,” Jacobs added.

Jacobs’ website further added that squatter removal in the area can be unpredictable. It claimed some groups operate as organized crime, which he said he was prepared for with professional-grade tactical gear.

The gear includes firearms, ballistic full-body armor, flash bangs and smoke grenades, tear gas, gas masks, and custom ammunition and tactical gear.

“With ASAP Squatter Removal, you’re not just hiring a service – you’re securing your property, your investment, and your peace of mind with professionals who are ready for anything,” according to his website.

Under California law, squatters can acquire title to a building after five years, typically much faster than in other states.

The Oakland Police Department said it handles calls about squatters by responding to all issues locals report.

“Our officers will respond to investigate the nature of the call,” they said in a statement.

“If our officers determine this is a landlord-tenant issue, the case will be referred to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation.”

Jacobs continued that property owners in the area have been poorly treated and linked the rights of squatters as an injustice.

“Black codes, Jim Crow Segregation, deed restriction, HOLC residential security maps, the California Alien Land Laws, Dawes Act, the Chinese Exclusion Act and many more … every one of these laws I just mentioned were in effect less than 100 years ago and they make me sick to my stomach,” he said.

“Real estate laws in the US have a deep history of injustice.”