Gov. Josh Shapiro is the Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania. He lives part-time in a governor's mansion which you probably recall was firebombed nearly a year ago while the governor and his family were asleep.
The governor also spends part of his time at the home he owns in a suburb of Philadelphia and, in the wake of the arson, he's gotten more serious about security. But when he tried to replace a fence on what he thought was his property, he discovered that the property actually belonged to his neighbors and they had been paying taxes on it all along.
Here are some images and photos which show the area under dispute. As you can see, the narrow strip of land lies between two driveways, one belonging to the Shapiros and the other belonging to their neighbors, the Mocks.
The land in question, and why that little narrow strip looks so odd . Theres Shapiro's driveway on one side, then another neighbors driveway on the other side.
— Bill Juftes (@BillJuftes) February 23, 2026
For privacy reasons, they allow these areas along property lines to overgrow with trees/shrubs in the entire area. pic.twitter.com/avhBdElbFm
Earlier this month both sides filed lawsuits against the other. Gov. Shapiro is essentially claiming squatters rights to the property.
On paper, the land belongs to the Mocks. But the Shapiros, seeking to build a security fence, have claimed in court to have squatters’ rights, a longtime feature of property law.
Now it’s devolved into dueling lawsuits, accusations of political motivations, state police interventions and angry yard signs. Shapiro claims that for more than two decades, he has cared for the contested area as his own land. The Mocks, who have been paying taxes on the disputed segment, see it as a land grab from the most powerful man in the state...
The saga began when Shapiro sought to build an eight-foot fence at the edge of his property and went to the town to obtain a permit. A surveyor discovered that the land next to his driveway — where the fence line had been for years, and which he’d treated as his since moving into the home in 2003 — actually belonged to the Mocks.
When this was discovered the neighbors apparently met and the Shapiros offered to buy the strip of land but a deal was never reached. So eventually Shapiro just moved to his current "adverse possession" claim, which is essentially squatters rights to the property.
The neighbors said they received an email from the Shapiros on July 15, 2025, where the Shapiros said they’d be interested in purchasing part of the neighbors’ land that contained the shared property line. But the two parties couldn’t come to an agreement on a price, so they talked instead about leasing that part of the neighbors’ property to the Shapiros.
However, after weeks of negotiations, the parties failed to reach a lease agreement.
The suit claims that the neighbors were contacted by Shapiro’s counsel around Aug. 29, at which point the counsel said the Shapiros would be taking “alternative actions” to obtain that portion of the neighbors’ property.
The lawsuit claims that the Shapiros “suddenly claimed, without evidence” that they owned the neighbors’ property through “adverse possession,” despite never have been awarded the neighbors’ property by a court...
From that point on, the suit says, the Shapiros have allegedly treated the property as their own, planting large trees and other plants on the property, flying drones over the area, threatening to remove healthy trees and allegedly “chasing away” the neighbors’ arborist and surveyor.
The Mocks also claim that since claiming possession of the property, the governor has had state troopers standing on the property to keep the neighbors away. This photo was included in the lawsuit.
“Neighbors of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Montgomery County residence have filed a federal lawsuit against the governor, his wife, and Pennsylvania State Police, accusing them of unlawfully claiming ownership of the neighbors’ property.” https://t.co/OoFRn7OHIU
— NathanBenefield (@NathanBenefield) February 9, 2026
I guess it takes two police officers to guard that tiny island of land.
So there are now dueling lawsuits in court and we'll have to wait and see how a judge decides to sort this out. But it's obviously not a good look for the governor, using squatters rights to claim land that he knows and has previously admitted is not his.
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