Not today, Sovereign Citizen!
A New Jersey woman named Shanetta posted a series of TikToks this month to chronicle her frustrating encounter with a man from an extremist group who tried to straight up steal her house. Yes, her whole damn house!
In a string of updates, Shanetta explained that a stranger changed the locks of a home she’s renovating in Newark, NJ. He reportedly began squatting inside and refused to vacate the premises.
At that point, Shanetta said she started getting threatening letters from a sovereign citizens group — an extremist group known to falsely claim ownership of property over supposed ancestral ties. The Southern Poverty Law Center states that “sovereign citizens believe that they – not judges, juries, law enforcement or elected officials – get to decide which laws to obey and which to ignore, and they don’t think they should have to pay taxes.”
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Basically, these people are seen as a bunch of manipulative extremists who try to bend the law to their advantage. Thankfully, Shanetta ignored the letters after her lawyer said it was a scam. She eventually got the police involved, and officials removed the man from the house.
On Thursday, Newark Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara told People that police responded to a call of four “unknown persons entering a vacant residence and refusing to leave. The individuals left after police arrived, but one person, claiming to be a Sovereign Citizen, returned.”
The self-described Sovereign Citizen was identified as Hubert John (above, left) of Los Angeles. Despite not being the owner of the property, the 39-year-old was adamant that he was rightfully in possession of the home, and refused to leave — so a local SWAT team was called to escort him out.
The official explained:
“The individual who had entered the home had the locks changed. Once rightful ownership of the home was confirmed, the suspect was arrested. The Newark Police SWAT team was deployed because the suspect refused to leave and was claiming that he was rightfully in possession of the home. The suspect was essentially a squatter in a vacant home who had the locks changed. No weapons were used in this incident.”
John faces charges of criminal mischief, burglary, criminal trespass, and terroristic threats. In an update, Shanetta said the man is being released from custody, and asked that police patrol her neighborhood more in order to maintain safety.
She explained in her video that she wanted to warn others about the “bizarre” experience, sharing:
“I was randomly but not randomly targeted by a terrorist group that doesn’t follow any of our rules, and would be violent in efforts to steal my house. It’s not the sexy crime, Lifetime show that we’re used to seeing. … This was something for me to try to communicate a cautionary tale that is bizarre and crazy but it’s real life. It happened.”
So crazy.
We’re glad she’s spreading awareness! Check out one of her TikToks (below) for more.
@regblackgrlFor those who want the short story ##PrimeDayDealsDance ##trending ##viral ##foryou♬ original sound – Shanetta
[Image via TikTok/Newark Police Dept.]
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