Americans from coast to coast terrorized by bizarre squatting incidents in 2023

Homeowners, police, local officials and realtors have all been rocked by squatter cases this year as brazen individuals across the nation continue illegally taking over other people’s home. 

"I called the police. I called the DA. I called the chief of police. The assistant chief of police. The Justice Department and the courts, like if I could get a number, I called it," homeowner Jessica Davis told Fox News Digital earlier this year of her efforts to evict a woman from her Dallas-area home. 

Davis is one of dozens of homeowners Fox News Digital covered this year who have personally dealt with squatters who refuse to move out of a home despite not paying rent. In Davis’ case, she discovered the woman who moved into her Texas house was a convicted fraudster who had previously been behind bars in Colorado for ripping off other landlords in 2018. 

Following months of squatting, the woman ultimately left the home - albeit filled with trash and stinking of urine, the homeowner said. 

ALLEGED 'SERIAL SQUATTER' FLEES HOME BUT LEAVES BEHIND TRASH, PUTRID STENCH: OWNER 

Squatters typically move into a property that is sitting empty and often forge lease agreements, or they legally move into a home but stop paying rent and refuse to leave. Experts have repeatedly weighed in that the issue has become more common as inflation leaves many Americans with smaller pocketbooks and crime continues ticking up in some major cities. 

With squatting incidents come dangerous situations often for police officers and homeowners trying to remove squatters from a property. In Washington state earlier this year, police officials estimated there was a roughly 39% increase in attacks against police officers in the state who were delivering eviction notices. 

REPEAT SQUATTER WITH 'WITCH'S CAULDRON' CITES RELIGION IN PROPERTY STANDOFF, ATTACKS COP

In one violent case this year, a repeat squatter in North Carolina allegedly punched a police officer in the face when they evicted her from a property in July. The woman had previously been convicted of squatting in 2015 before allegedly taking over another North Carolina home she refused to leave. The alleged squatter claimed her religion allowed her to remain on the property and was accused by neighbors of "yelling at people to get off her indigenous property," and burning a "big witch’s cauldron" in the backyard. 

She was arrested and charged with first degree trespassing, resisting a public officer and assault on a government official. 

'ONLYFANS' SQUATTER ALLEGEDLY INSTALLS STRIPPER POLE, TRASHES $900K HOME

In a Seattle squatter case just last month, police removed a couple from a $900,000 home after they allegedly forged a lease agreement. Once they were out, the landlord discovered they had installed a stripper pole, ostensibly for one of the squatter’s "OnlyFans influencer" career. 

"Yes, it’s been a stressful situation," landlord Leka Devatha said of the "real estate nightmare." "And I just feel emotionally relieved. Not just that we got the squatters out, but we are making the neighborhood safe again."

REAL ESTATE AGENT SCREAMS IN HORROR WHEN STRANGE MAN APPEARS DURING HOME TOUR: 'REALLY TERRIFYING'

In Montana, a real estate agent was left terrified while giving a home tour to prospective tenants and abruptly came face-to-face with a squatter creeping around the house. Footage of the scene captured her screaming out in fear as she turned a corner and spotted the man. 

"It was really terrifying to know someone was there the entire time I was in that house, and they didn't try to leave or announce their presence, and they were just hiding," the real estate agent Alyssa Webb told a local outlet of the ordeal in April. 

The suspect soon fled the scene, reports show. 

FLORIDA POLICE DISMANTLE SQUATTERS' BOOBY-TRAPPED 'METH ISLAND'

In Florida, squatters took over an area located near the Dunlawton Bridge in Port Orange, dubbed by social media commenters as "Meth Island." Squatters built makeshift wooden structures, including an elaborate four-story treehouse, and other huts made out of what appear to be old lumber and tree branches. 

They also installed a trampoline and appeared to be in the middle of constructing a pool on the island, footage of the scene published by authorities showed. To deter visitors, the squatters even allegedly outfitted the island with booby traps. 

Authorities began dismantling the squatter’s island paradise in June. 

SQUATTERS ARRESTED AT ATLANTA HOME WHERE NEIGHBORS SAID THEY RAN AN 'ILLEGAL STRIP CLUB'

In another shocking squatter case, four men were arrested in Atlanta in October by a SWAT team for allegedly illegally taking over a property and turning it into a strip club. 

Locals described the four men as the "neighbors from hell" who operated a strip club on the weekends, raced cars on the street near the home and even had live horses in the backyard on occasion. 

The men were hit with multiple charges, including theft by receiving stolen property.

Squatting crimes frequently turn into lengthy and expensive legal battles for homeowners and are often considered a civil matter that relies on the courts for eviction.

To fight against the crime, experts have warned homeowners to make their properties as least enticing as possible with "no trespassing" signs, adding security measures such as cameras, motion lights, and even befriending law enforcement, so they are aware a property is empty, Fox News Digital previously reported.