January 26, 2026
Tamieka Goode argued that she was allowed to remain at the home due to unclear ownership.
A lengthy rental battle in the DMV area has ended with a squatting TikToker finally on her way out.
The issue over a multi-million dollar home in Bethesda, Maryland, lasted over nine months, with tensions escalating between neighbors and Tamieka Goode, the self-proclaimed tenant who refused to leave—until the courts intervened.
A neighboring 19-year-old college student filed charges of trespassing and breaking and entering against Goode, who was found guilty of the charges Jan. 22 and received 90-day jail sentence. Goode however believes she is innocent, and the neighborhood is “trying to dispose of me,” she argued, according to Spotlight on Maryland.
The judge disagreed with Goode, saying she had “some demented thoughts to justify” squatting.
The apparent TikToker and self-described “pro-se litigation coach” also posted about her life and legal battles. She even recorded inspirational content of herself, with the home clearly visible in the background. One testifying neighbor called her occupancy a “year of terror.”
Some of the content served as proof that Goode unlawfully occupied the home, prompting charges for squatting. After failing to appear in court several times before, Goode finally represented herself in court. She argued that the ownership of the home seemed unclear, especially given its foreclosure and alleged lack of a “no trespassing” sign.
“I know who doesn’t own the property—and that’s Tamieka Goode,” a Maryland state attorney said in court. “This isn’t some vacant, abandoned, way-out-in-the-woods house.”
Goode seemingly got away with the illegal practice until a quote-unquote neighbor, 19-year-old Ian Chen, pressed charges.
“I felt it was my civic duty to do the right thing, to file these charges and then to ultimately bring her to justice here today,” he said.
However, the issue took almost a year to resolve. Community advocates in Bethesda blamed the lack of squatter reform laws in Maryland. Given the ambiguity surrounding vacant or foreclosed homes, squatters can still take advantage of them, leaving nearby residents uneasy.
“I was pretty scared,” added Chen. “All of us in our neighborhood were. We have a lot of elderly folks who were afraid to even go to sleep at night because they were worried that someone like Tamieka, or Tamieka herself, would break in and be living in their house and refuse to leave. So we were all pretty afraid that we could be the next victims of this.”
While this neighborhood has one unwanted tenant out, they still must contend with Tamieka’s alleged roommate, Corey Pollard, who has yet to appear in court. He was recently arrested on an outstanding warrant.
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