Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell claimed in a court filing that his family has been on the receiving end of violent threats in the past year as he fights to keep people from trespassing on his property.
The 51-year-old singer has been in a legal battle since September, when he filed a lawsuit against a Florida woman named Carolyn Barrington Hill, 67, for allegedly trespassing on his private beachfront in Santa Rosa Beach.
The Daily Mail was first to report about his problem with trespassers in July.
Now Littrell claimed to Fox News Digital that his family had been hit by death threats from protesters.
He also alleged that they threatened to bring guns and said they would burn down his family’s $3.8 million waterfront mansion.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Hill and Littrell’s attorneys for comment.
Littrell and his wife, Leighanne, filed their lawsuit against Hill for allegedly trespassing on his private beach property in September of last year, but the judge overseeing the case dismissed it without prejudice last month.
Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell claimed in a recent court filing that his family has been on the receiving end of violent threats in the past year as he fights to keep people from trespassing on his property
The 51-year-old singer has been in a legal battle since September, when he filed a lawsuit against a Florida woman named Carolyn Barrington Hill, 67, for allegedly trespassing on his private beachfront in Santa Rosa Beach
On February 25, the couple filed an amended complaint in their fight against Hill, after previously filing suit in June against Walton County, as he claims its sheriff’s department has refused to remove trespassers from his private beach property.
In the amended complaint, they requested a trial by jury, and they requested damages of over $50,000 due to alleged emotional distress and economic damages, according to documents obtained by the Daily Mail.
In his initial complaint, the boy band singer claimed that Hill had sought to ‘antagonize, bully, and harass the Littrell family by frequently trespassing’ on their beach property.
Hill’s attorney, Heidi Mehaffey, subsequently filed a motion to dismiss Littrell’s amended complaint on March 17.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Mehaffey said, ‘The Amended Complaint filed by the Plaintiffs is once again legally deficient, and subject to dismissal by the Court.
‘Ms. Hill has asked the Court to dismiss all seven counts of trespass against her, as the Plaintiffs failed to state a cause of action upon which relief can be granted,’ she continued. ‘The Plaintiffs have not provided sufficient factual allegations that would allow the Court to award them the damages and relief they seek.’
Littrell claimed in his interview that Hill is only the most vocal critic of their efforts to enforce their property rights, but other protesters have allegedly made violent threats against him and his family.
‘It will eventually come out, but all the pictures and the documents that we have from social media and the threats, the physical threats to my family … they’ve talked about burning our house down, burning it down,’ Littrell alleged. ‘They’ve talked about bringing guns. They said, “Yeah, guns are allowed in Florida.” They want to spray us with mace. They want to punch my teeth out, you know, it’s like, it’s crazy.’
Littrell claimed that protesters had made death threats against his family. He alleged that they threatened to bring guns to intimidate him, and he also claimed that they threatened to burn down his $3.8 million beachfront mansion; pictured in 2015 in Hollywood
His wife, Leighanne, added that it was ‘scary to have to be in this small community with a lot of angry people, honestly, and then making us out to be these monsters that we’re not.
‘We love this town, but now we don’t know where to eat because of who hates us,’ she said.
Littrell then claimed that protesters have urged restaurant servers to ‘spit in our food.’
Brian and Leighanne, who share one son, the 23-year-old country singer Baylee Littrell, defended themselves as ‘good people’ who hoped to maintain peaceful relations with the community while trying to ‘educate people on the facts of what they should and shouldn’t do, the protocol, the misinformation that’s out there.’
‘We’re not trying to take something that’s not ours. We just want to enjoy the sand,’ the Backstreet Boys singer added.
Littrell described himself and his wife as ‘law-abiding Christians,’ adding that it was ‘disheartening’ to see how protesters have allegedly treated them.
Peter Ticktin of Ticktin Law Group, who represents the couple in their lawsuit, told Fox News Digital that the case was a simple matter of the Littrells defending their property.
In their amended complaint, the Littrells requested a trial by jury, and they requested damages of over $50k due to alleged emotional distress and economic damages, according to documents obtained by the Daily Mail
The Littrells called themselves ‘good people’ who hoped to maintain peaceful relations with the community while trying to ‘educate people on the facts of what they should and shouldn’t do, the protocol, the misinformation that’s out there’; Littrell (R) is pictured with fellow Back Street Boys (L–R) Kevin Richardson, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter and AJ McLean in May 2025
‘I know Brian is referring to the beach as a piece of sand, but the fact of the matter is, that’s his backyard,’ said Ticktin. ‘That’s his private backyard.’
‘For people to decide to camp out in his backyard is no different than if they were to camp out in anybody else’s backyard,’ he continued.
According to Ticktin, members of the community that are critical of the Littrells have attempted to create the impression that they are ‘trying to steal the property.’
‘My client is an innocent purchaser for value,’ he said. ‘[Brian and Leighanne] wanted, this is what they worked so hard for. This is where their talent was able to give them the success that they were able to achieve. And here it was going to manifest itself into the home of their dreams.’
Ticktin added that ‘being able to buy a home’ is part of ‘the American dream’ and an aspiration for many.
However, after Littrell had reached that stage that so many people aspire to, ‘all of a sudden, we’ve got these characters that come on the scene to bring drama where they should have, you know, peaceful and quiet enjoyment of their property.’
He claimed that the controversy about Littrell’s property was unfounded, as there are ‘public beaches’ that protesters could enjoy instead.
‘They don’t need this beach, which is a private beach,’ Ticktin continued, claiming that Littrell’s property is surrounded by other private beaches.
Littrell’s attorney, Peter Ticktin, emphasized to the publication that the beach that Littrell was trying to keep the public off was ‘his private backyard’; Littrell is pictured with his wife Leighanne (R) and their son, country singer Bailey Littrell, 23
‘It’s not bordering on a public beach where people simply make a mistake,’ he alleged. ‘No, this is an assault on, on American values. That’s what this really is.’
Littrell also told the publication that he was focused on trying to preserve his ‘joy,’ rather than letting protesters spoil his enjoyment of his seaside property.
‘Every time we come down here, you know, I fall back in love with how it makes me feel,’ he said of his Santa Rosa Beach property.
In his lawsuit, Littrell accused Hill of repeatedly entering his Santa Rosa Beach property without permission and then allegedly shouting and cursing at his family’s property manager.
Littrell accused her of trespassing on multiple occasions between late April and mid–September, and he and his wife, Leighanne, were both filmed talking to beachgoers outside the property.
In Florida, the wet sand and water below the mean high–water line are typically public, while the dry sand above said line can be privately owned.
Trespassing has apparently been an issue since the couple bought the three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom home in February 2023.
A video that went viral two months later showed Littrell and his wife in a dispute with unnamed beachgoers about the property’s lines.
Littrell and his wife were seen arguing with beachgoers outside their Florida mansion over what they claim are trespassing incidents onto their private beach
The Littrells’ property manager, pictured, has even been accused of menacing beachgoers with a drill
The Backstreet Boys singer, who lives with his wife Leighanne, bought his Santa Rosa Beach home for $3.8million in 2023
In the clip, Leighanne was seen arguing with the visitor and repeatedly pointing out that he should be on ‘water’s edge,’ rather than on her private property.
Meanwhile, the Backstreet Boy held up a ‘No Trespassing’ sign. After the visitor told Leighanne that he was ‘not f***ing moving’ because he believed he was close enough to the water’s edge, he told her to call the cops.
The clip ended with Leighanne apparently attempting to stop the person from recording her and telling him that she was going to grab the phone.
The suit filed by the Littrells claimed that Hill ‘always refused’ to leave after she was informed that she was on private property.
In one instance, Hill was told to leave the private beach by a Walton County Sheriff’s deputy, per video published by News 13 and provided by the Littrells’ attorneys.
However, she accused the Backstreet Boy’s property manager of threatening her with a drill.
‘I’ve been threatened by him, and next time he gets four feet away from me with that drill, I’m bringing out pepper spray,’ Hill said in the video. ‘Am I allowed to do that, when he does this in front of me?’
The Florida senior filed a motion on November 19 to dismiss Littrell’s suit, News 13 reported.
