A U.S. District Judge ruled on Tuesday that Governor Josh Shapiro cannot be sued over a 2,900 sf strip of land between his and his Abington Township neighbors’ adjoining properties, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

However, he and his wife, Lori, still have to face their neighbors in federal court as homeowners, the judge said.

News of the dispute surfaced in February through a lawsuit involving the roughly $1 million in security upgrades at Shapiro’s private residence following the arson attack on the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg in April. Jeremy and Simone Mock, who filed the 11-page suit and whose property is adjacent to the Shapiros’, accused the governor of illegally occupying part of their yard to build an eight-foot security fence.

The Shapiros filed a countersuit in which they asked a judge to declare that the property is theirs. According to Spotlight PA, Shapiro alleged that the Mocks “had not used or maintained it [the parcel] since moving into their house in 2017, nor had they voiced any objection to the Shapiros using it as their own.”

In April, Shapiro asked a U.S. district judge to dismiss the federal lawsuit.

“We are pleased that the court has dismissed the claims against the office of the governor and the Pennsylvania State Police, and recognize that the allegations against these officials are without merit,” said Rosie Lapowsky, a spokesperson for Shapiro. “The Shapiros are confident that the facts will ultimately show that the Mocks’ remaining claims are meritless and politically motivated and will fail.”

“The claims here extend far beyond a disagreement between neighbors over the metes and boundaries of their properties,” the ruling judge wrote, as quoted by The Inquirer.

In related news, Richard John Franklin, 65, of Delaware County, was charged Wednesday after allegedly making threats against Shapiro during a visit to a state representative’s office, The Inquirer reported separately.

According to their coverage, Franklin threatened to “burn down … [Shapiro’s] mansion with him in it” while disputing and requesting help with a $19 unanticipated tax bill at a legislative office in Brookhaven.

Pennsylvania State Police deemed his comments “threatening, harassing, and antisemitic in nature.” He allegedly said “I guess I’ll pay that Jew. That Jew needs the money more than me.”

“He made an admission to using the ethnic slur and related the statement(s) he made about the Governor’s mansion were sympathetic and positive in nature because the Governor and his family survived the previous arson,” according to a news release from state troopers in the Political Violence Threat Unit.

Franklin was charged with felony levels of terroristic threats and ethnic intimidation, in addition to lower-level charges of harassment and disorderly conduct, The Inquirer said. He was being held at the Delaware County prison with bail set at $100,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 16.

Photo: Commonwealth Media Services