Video Shows Heavily Armed Police Evict Squatters From Georgia Mansion

A new video circulating online shows a group of heavily armed police officers evicting squatters from a sprawling Georgia mansion.
The video shows several officers from the Fulton County Marshal’s Department wearing bulletproof vests approaching the 15,000-square-foot Atlanta mansion with guns and shields mounted in the early morning hours. The officers make their way through the expansive home with weapons drawn, going room to room in search of the squatters.
Because of the sheer size of the home, the department said in a message on Facebook alongside the video that they took extra safety precautions during the raid.
“Significant precautions were implemented given the extensive area and indications that the tenants may identify as sovereign citizens,” the Fulton County Marshal’s Department wrote on Facebook.
“Additional units were deployed to the scene to ensure safety and effective monitoring. A drone was also used for aerial surveillance to assess the situation and identify potential inhabitants. This approach aimed to enhance the department’s response and maintain public safety during the operation.”
Georgia defines squatting as the unauthorized occupation of property without the owner’s consent. Although property owners have a legal right to evict squatters, they often face obstacles as they must follow strict legal procedures.
However, a new Georgia law enacted in July mandated that all squatters caught in a home would be issued a criminal citation and must show a lease within three days of being caught.
If their lease is deemed fraudulent, they will be charged with a felony.
The new law also allows people other than homeowners to report squatters so concerned neighbors can work to get illegal tenants off their property.
“The governor remains proud to have signed critical legislation passed by the General Assembly that immediately empowered local law enforcement with greater authorities to tackle illegal squatting in their communities,” a spokesperson for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said in a statement. “Illegal squatting is theft and we look forward to our local partners in law enforcement utilizing their increased authorities in this area and holding criminal offenders accountable.”
Ryan McCall, principal with McCall Sweeney & Silva, P.C. and an expert in landlord and eviction law, said that squatters tend to be aware they are illegally occupying a property and know they can use the system to force the property owner to spend money on unnecessary legal fees to get them to leave.
“I have seen situations where the squatter may demand the rightful owner to pay them to leave the property instead of going through the eviction process, which can take months and cost sometimes thousands of dollars in legal fees they most likely will never recoup,” McCall told Newsweek.
Many states and cities also provide free legal counsel to those who say they’re facing wrongful evictions.
“Unfortunately, landlords are typically not entitled to free legal counsel and are forced to pay out of pocket if they choose to be represented by an attorney, even in situations where the occupant appears to be taking advantage of the landlord who was genuinely trying to help them,” McCall said.
McCall recommended homeowners who leave their property for an extended period consider setting up cameras around the home and have a friend or neighbor routinely check on the place to prevent squatters from targeting them.
Nationally, victims of squatters are often turning to services outside of the police to get illegal tenants out of their homes.
Lando Thomas founded Southern California-based Squatter Squad for this very reason: to help homeowners get rid of squatters without paying pricy legal fees to go the eviction route.
“Stand your ground with them,” Thomas previously told Newsweek. “Keep after them on a regular basis as to not letting them feel any comfort or freedom inside your home or on your property. Remember, it’s your private property and they have trespassed illegally trying to ride our weak and gray area tenant laws that should have nothing to do with trespassers.”