Opinion

JONATHAN TURLEY: How Gov Shapiro became a squatter and got sued by his neighbors

Shapiro faces lawsuit over $830K property after allegedly using state police to bar neighbors from their own land

By Jonathan Turley Fox News

Published March 14, 2026 7:08am EDT

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Poet Robert Frost once said that "good fences make good neighbors." He apparently never met Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is being sued by his neighbors for effectively squatting on their land and then seizing it to install a fence along his $830,500 private residence in suburban Philadelphia. The litigation is likely to put Shapiro in a much different light for many who think of him as a 2028 contender.

US President Joe Biden looks on as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro delivers remarks following a briefing on Interstate-95 highway emergency repair and reconstruction efforts, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 2023. (JULIA NIKHINSON/AFP via Getty Images))

The irony of the case is crushing. Shapiro opposed Trump's plan to build a wall along the southern border, declaring that he would sue before a dime of Pennsylvania money went to pay for it. He apparently adopted a similar approach to his neighbors in Pennsylvania. The difference is that he built the wall, but without giving his neighbors a dime.

Shapiro has long wanted a 2,900-square-foot parcel of land located between the two homes in Abington, Montgomery County. The problem is that his neighbors like their land and want to keep it. They turned down multiple offers from Shapiro.

That is when the governor decided to build it anyway.

GIVE THE GOVERNMENT AN INCH AND THEY'LL SEIZE YOUR $200K HOME FOR A $2K DEBT

Jeremy and Simone Mock allege that Shapiro effectively became a squatter by using........

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