Jennifer McLeggan SPEAKS OUT about her NEIGHBORS & the NOTE ON HER DOOR.. *You Should Know Podcast*
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Hey everybody, welcome back to the You Should Know podcast. Today's episode is definitely one of the most important episodes that I've put out so far. Our guest today has made national headlines due to the harassment and racism she's dealt with from her neighbors. Here to tell her story is Jennifer McClegan. Jennifer, how are you doing? Hi, how are you guys? Hi. Jennifer, thank you so much for coming on. First and foremost, I just want to ask how you are, how's your mental health right now?

It's a little better. The support helps, like, you know, a lot of people from all over. They send me, like, flowers and cards, like, people helping me mow the lawn. And they're, like, helping me, you know, just try to fix up the house, I guess, because they saw that I was, you know, struggling with that.

And I want to give you 100% of the platform just to talk about everything. And I know there's certain things we can't talk about, you know, due to legal reasons. But tell us about your experience with your neighbor and why you decided to put that sign on your door. So I think from what you already know that I brought that, this is like a foreclosed property. Mm-hmm.

So it wasn't really bad shape. I'm not even going to lie and sugarcoat and say that, you know, I got a mess. I got a mess. I brought a mess. But I was making, I bought the house when I was pregnant. But because I was pregnant and I was working, I really couldn't like fix everything right away. And I remember just asking like for time.

like time to like give me some time to fix it like until the baby is born and until like you know you just get back on your feet you know what I mean and um like after having the baby and I think I made good strides like I spent a lot of money cutting down like some 20 foot trees and um up until like six seven thousand dollars it was so much and um nothing that I did was good enough

And then there was an area like in the back that they really complained about. And I had that cleared out. I put up a fence. And I think when I put up the fence, that's kind of when everything started. But I put up the fence because the neighbor used to shoot across my yard into the street sign here. And I also put up the fence so that they wouldn't have to see the mess. So the fence kind of was like for two reasons, one for the shooting and one for the mess.

And then that's kind of when I got my first ticket and I had to go out with someone to court with like a warrant out for my arrest because I put up this fence. And, you know, I didn't know that my neighbor had ties to my code enforcement, to the police. I didn't know any of these things until much later. But the harassment kind of made sense because...

I was being -- I was getting tickets for, like, shrubs and littering, and I wasn't the one littering. And I brought the shrubs, and they were, like, you know, six feet high. So I didn't understand.

And whenever reading that sign, I know, I don't know what you can completely get into, but I saw some stuff that, you know, it really triggered me and a lot of people obviously about them throwing feces or dead squirrels. Can you talk about that too? The only thing, the only thing I put on the sign were the things that were, could be proved with video. So the human feces, I have video of that. The spitting, um,

I have video of that. The guns, I have it. You know, I only put things that can be proved with -- Because if I said anything else, no one would believe me. They would say, "Oh, she's lying. She's not telling the truth." So I made sure to put -- And it was recorded. And it was recorded. And it was recorded. And it was recorded that I reached out to the police, and the police said, "Well,

Did he shoot you? Are you dead? Did you get hurt? What is the problem? You know, like, stop calling. We have other things, too. And I get that, too, and there became a point that I felt guilty for calling, and then I just stopped calling. So when the human feces happened, I didn't call. When the spitting kept happening, I didn't call. When I was finding dead squirrels, I just stopped calling. But then it started to bother me because he started to say, like, I can get her erased.

I've heard him say I could have gotten her erased a long time ago. I could get her eliminated. She doesn't know who I know. And then you're out there with guns and blackface and all these. So I just started to get more scared in the house. There's nothing stopping him from coming in here with a gun and doing whatever. And also, I think when I went to court,

for one of the dog feces incidents because I had video and that's how I won my judgment. I think that really made them mad. But in my head, it was like, you're complaining about me not clearing and cleaning up the property. So here I am cleaning up the property and you're throwing feces on what I just cleaned. You see what I'm saying? It's like, when does it stop? And I even hired a company, Long Island Poop,

to come clean for me because I just couldn't keep up because I had work and I had the baby and I'm so paranoid of getting a ticket. Again, I didn't want to get arrested for, you know, I didn't want to warrant out for my arrest from the code enforcement. So it just became this constant me like, you know, trying and then just like getting kicked in the teeth, you know, like I just didn't, I just couldn't keep up. And I think the sign was like, if something happens to me,

in here, then at least the police would make a phone call to my mom because I didn't want something to happen like, you know, Breonna Taylor and somebody bust open the door and they think you're the one with the gun and you're not. So the sign kind of protected me from the police and kind of protected me from the neighbors. And that's how I was thinking at the time. Like if something happened to me, at least people would read the sign and I would be

the baby would be okay. Maybe not I wouldn't have been okay, but at least the baby would have been okay, God willing, God prayerfully. So that's why I put it out there, just in case something happened.

Yeah, I, it just, it's so hard for me to hear that. And it just, you know, whenever I see you, I think of my mother, I think of my, my, my aunt, my grandmother, you know, the strong black women in my life. And it just, it gets me a little emotional, you know, hearing that. But, um, what, what was your initial reaction whenever, you know, your sign was posted online and it started getting a little attention, you know, started picking up? What did that feel like?

I don't know, it's been like a whirlwind, you know? I didn't... Like, I didn't put up the sign for all of this to happen. -Right. -I didn't put up the sign for...

you know, like, a GoFundMe or gifts or... That's not why I put up the sign. I put up the sign so that I could be left alone from these people, where they could stop with the dead squirrel, they could stop with the spitting, they could stop with the harassment. That's why I put up the sign, because they-- the police told me, "Well, you know, if he doesn't hurt you, there's nothing that we can do." So I kind of put up the sign to just, like, stay alive and to stop the harassment. And, um...

I just didn't expect all of that. I didn't expect for it to go viral or for people to like talk to me about it. I didn't expect any of that. I mean, I welcome it. I welcome the love, but that wasn't my initial intention.

um, motive to like get attention and to get, I didn't do that. I did that so that me and the baby could be safe in here because we're alone. And, um, I didn't want to get, I didn't want her to be harmed or left alone or get hurt because she, she can't fend for herself. She's two years old. So that's what was my original motive for the sign. Right. And, you know, now that

People have heard your story. Hundreds of people have been outside of your house, you know, protecting you, you and your daughter, taking care of you. What does that mean to you? That means a lot. Like there's a kid and his name is Flo and Anthony Heron is his name. And he's been like when the cops leave, he's here, you know? So, and that's what I said in my little rally speech, you know, like I'm not really important to the police and I get it,

I mean, I'm not white. I'm not, I'm not like, you know, I'm not a white woman or whatever. I get that I'm not important to them, but to these kids, these young brothers out here who came and sat on my lawn, I'm a little important to them. So that means a lot to me because they've sat out here in the rain. They sit out here all night. They have tents just to make sure that, um,

I don't get hurt. And that means a lot to me. The police won't. I get it. I'm not important. I understand. But to them, I'm important. You know what I mean? And I think that makes me a little emotional because I look at everybody as important. Cop, black, white, green, yellow. I just look at everybody as important. But it is what it is. There's nothing that you can do. Yeah. And you know, I just want to say we love you and we support you and we are here for you. Thank you.

And, you know, like I said at the beginning, I want to give you 100% of the platform. So what would your message be to the people not only in your neighborhood, but all across the country and even the world who support you and love you and want to help you during these times? I love everyone. I'm really, really grateful. Like I wake up in the morning and I just get on my knees. I thank God for the amount of support. I thank God for everyone. I thank God for all the people who help me.

organize the rally, all of the people who sent me flowers, all the people who sent me food, all of the people, the kids who are parked out here, like, not all one race. They're not all Black kids. I've had Sikhs. I've had Jewish men. I've had Italians. I've had Germans. I've had Black, African. I've had so many people just come out and show their support, you know, and I just really, really appreciate that.

you know, really, really, especially during this time with the pandemic and I'm working and, you know, I'm out there and I still can't come home and find peace. Like I have peace now here with, with, with everything that's going on. And, and Jennifer, like I said, I'm going to wrap this up here because I don't want to take too much of your time, but despite the circumstances that put you in this extreme spotlight and all this attention on you, I want people listening and watching this podcast to know who you are. So,

Who is Jennifer McLagan? I'm just like a hard worker. You know, I'm a very hard worker. I'm like a, I'm a ninth grade high school dropout who like went back to school to become an RN. I'm a citizen of Jamaica by maternal affiliation. I don't know what else to say. I'm a mom. I'm

I'm just a hard worker. That's the only thing that I can say about myself. I may have other things, but when it comes to work, that's what I do. I've held down two jobs. I've taken care of my child here. I brought the house on my own. No one brought it with me. I wasn't married or anything like that. So that's one thing I would like to leave. Like, I'm a hard worker and that's it. And I feel that I'm a good spirit, you know, to welcome all this. I would have to be. Yeah.

I think that's it. There's not really much. You know, again, this wasn't for like attention. This was for just in case something happened to me, then I would at least be, I would at least go knowing that the baby is all right. That was my thinking that, you know, someone come get the baby.

And Jennifer, like I said, we love you. We believe you. We support you. And, you know, we have each other's numbers. So if there's anything I can do here from Austin, just let me know. I'm going to leave the link to petitions and GoFundMes and all the information in the description of this video. So people can, you know, read more about it and help any way they can. I want to shout out everybody who's outside of your door.

Yeah, right now. Flo, Flo, shout out to Flo, Mr. Terrell, so many people. It's honestly amazing. I love to see it. And, you know, I'm praying for you and I pray that this situation gets taken care of in your favor. And we love you. And thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you so much. I pray too. Thank you. Thank you again for having me. Oh, it's no problem. Anytime. This has been a You Should Know podcast. Thank you, Jennifer McLagan. Thank you.

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