Miya Ponsetto attacked a Black teenager in a hotel after falsely accusing him of stealing her phone.- Ponsetto avoided jail time by pleading guilty to a felony
hate crime charge related to the incident.
Miya Ponsetto, who attacked a Black teenager in 2020 after falsely accusing him of stealing her phone, pleaded guilty to a felony hate
In the video, Ponsetto is seen screaming at 14-year-old Keyon Harrold, accusing him of stealing her phone and refusing to let him leave the lobby of the Arlo Hotel in New York. She then tackled Harrold and was originally charged with attempted robbery, grand larceny, and two counts of attempted assault.
Her phone was later returned to her by an Uber driver.
Ponsetto, dubbed "SoHo Karen" by viewers of the video as it spread online, avoided jail time by pleading guilty to one count of second-degree unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime. She will be able to enter a new plea to a misdemeanor charge without a hate crime element if she completes probation in a separate case of driving while intoxicated in California, The New York Times reported.