'Permit Karen' calls cops on Black couple on their own property

MONTCLAIR — A dispute between neighbors over work being done at a Black couple's home this week sparked a brief anti-racism protest march after video of the confrontation was posted on social media.

The dispute began around noon Monday, according to a Black couple who said in a video shared on Facebook that a white woman confronted them about whether they had obtained a permit to build a stone patio in the backyard of their township home.

As the argument continued, the white woman accuses her male neighbor of pushing her, allegations the man's wife can be heard off-screen denying. Several neighbors soon arrived to watch the commotion.

In the video, another white neighbor denies the accusation that the Black man had pushed the white woman as she is on the phone calling police after she refused the couple's request to leave the area.

Police arrived a short time later and the confrontation eventually concluded without further incident. Authorities said Wednesday that no complaints have been filed by anyone involved in the dispute.

Video of the dispute was then circulated on Facebook, and the poster claimed the woman called police because the couple was Black. The poster also claimed the woman had been harassing them for two years and the couple informed the woman that they did not need a permit for a patio of the size they were building but the woman returned to their property three times in about half an hour demanding that they answer her questions.

On Tuesday, about two dozen people — many of them white — gathered at the scene to stage a brief, peaceful protest march and denounce racism.

Commenters on Twitter dubbed the white neighbor "Permit Karen," with one saying that "calling the cops on innocent black people IS A DEATH SENTENCE. They know this!"

A phone number for the woman seen in the video could not be located Wednesday, while the couple did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.