The California woman who wrongfully accused a Black teenager of theft and tackled him to the ground has been charged with a hate crime

• The woman accused of attacking a Black 14-year-old in a hotel lobby was charged with a hate crime.
• Miya Ponsetto, 22, sparked outrage when video of the incident went viral in December.
• Ponsetto pleaded not guilty to several counts in court on Wednesday.

The California woman who accused a Black 14-year-old teenager of stealing her cellphone at a New York hotel lobby last year, was charged with a hate crime on Wednesday.

The incident made headlines after a video of the altercation, recorded by the boy's father, prominent jazz musician Keyon Harrold, went viral in December.

Miya Ponsetto, 22, was arraigned in New York State Supreme Court via video call on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime, one count of endangering the welfare of a child, and one count of second-degree aggravated harassment.

Ponsetto was in the lobby of the Arlo Hotel in SoHo last December, when authorities say she accused Keyon Harold Jr. of stealing her phone. Cellphone video and security footage of the incident shows Ponsetto grabbing at Keyon Jr. and tackling him to the ground after he refused to show his phone to Ponsetto.

Ponsetto, who is of Puerto Rican and Vietnamese descent, can be heard shouting: "No, I'm not letting him walk away with my phone!"

Investigators said Ponsetto's phone was found soon after the incident and returned to her by an Uber driver.

Wednesday's hate crime charges against Ponsetto are on top of charges already filed against her in relation to the altercation, including attempted robbery, grand larceny, acting in a manner injurious to a child, and attempted assault.

"We intend on fighting this very vigorously, especially in the wake of the embellished charges District Attorney Vance has charged Miya Ponsetto with," Ponsetto's lawyer, Paul D'Emilia, told The New York Times.

Keyon Harold told the newspaper the family is moving forward with lawsuits against both Ponsetto and the Arlo hotel.

"I'm feeling hopeful," he told The Times. "Obviously as Black people, it's hard to believe in a system and believe that the system will work for me and for my family. But to see that there's work being done to change things is something so positive."

Following video of the altercation going viral in December, Ponsetto initially appeared to apologize, but later sparked even more controversy after defending her actions during a bizarre Gayle King interview.

During the exclusive, Ponsetto denied racial profiling, wore a hat with the word "Daddy" on it, and at one point, snapped at King, telling her "Enough!"

-CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) January 8, 2021

Ponsetto was first arrested hours after the interview.

Ponsetto remains under court-supervised release in California and is set to make her next appearance in court on October 20.