A community has come together to defend a Black woman who says she’s been harassed and targeted by her white neighbors for years. Registered nurse and single mother Jennifer McLeggan moved in to her Long Island, NY home two and a half years ago and says the harassment began over her yard upkeep.
“I bought the property when I was pregnant and — this is the truth — the property was in bad shape,” she told local news station ABC 7. “I’m trying my best to make every effort to clean the property. I’ve done my best to clean the property. I mow the lawn; when there’s snow out here I’m shoveling the snow by myself. I’m doing what I can to keep the property clean.”
Soon, McLeggan started noticing dog feces appearing on her lawn. She told the outlet she was getting ticket ordinances from the town due to the feces.
“I keep getting tickets. I keep seeing dog feces,” she said. “I installed a camera here. I caught my neighbor throwing dog feces in front of my property.”
McLeggan presented the footage of neighbors throwing feces on her lawn in court and was able to win a $5,000 judgement. However, the harassment didn’t stop there. According to McLeggan, her white neighbors have thrown dead squirrels and human feces in her yard, told her to “go back” where she’s from, spit on her property and told her she can be “erased.” McLeggan says she’s recorded the attacks on camera and keeps a list of the alleged incidents written on a sheet of paper on her door to protect herself.
“My neighbors have been racially harassing me since I purchased my home,” the lengthy note on her door reads. “The police have said, I need to be harmed for them to make an arrest. I live in FEAR for my life at my home.”
Several community members have rallied in support of McLeggan, beginning with one man reportedly named Anthony. The man, who goes by “F.L.O.W.” on Twitter, first began standing watch overnight near McLeggan’s house in his car to make sure no neighbors harassed her. He and other supporters of McLeggan’s also organized a protest on her behalf and launched the #StandWithJennifer campaign to raise awareness about her situation.
A GoFundMe has also been launched by a woman named Erica Coreas — who told ABC 7 she has been harassed by the neighbors as well — to raise money for a security system for McLeggan’s home. According to a statement from Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, a police investigation into the matter is underway.
“Nassau County will not tolerate any resident being harassed or intimidated because of who they are or what they look like,” the statement read. “We take these allegations seriously, and Nassau County PD is conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.”
See more information on Anthony’s Twitter below.