In December 2020, Miya Ponsetto falsely accused the 14-year-old son of jazz musician Keyon Harrold Jr. of stealing her iPhone, physically attacking the teen in the middle of a hotel lobby.
The 22-year-old was arrested on charges of attempted robbery and assault in January just hours after her controversial interview with Gayle King but was released under the terms of supervised release shortly after.
“Soho Karen” claimed her actions were not racially motivated, telling Gayle, “I wasn't racial profiling whatsoever. I'm Puerto Rican, I'm, like, a woman of color. I'm Italian, Greek, Puerto Rican.” The video footage shows otherwise as Ponsetto singled out the Black teen in a crowded hotel lobby.
Ponsetto faces a lengthy list of other charges for damaging an empty apartment the same day of the phone incident, DUI charges from her past, and public intoxication charges from February of this year.
The young woman now can add federal hate crime charges to her long list of consequences for her actions. Ponsetto pleaded not guilty to the charges in court remotely on Wednesday.
According to the New York Post, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Sarah Marquez acknowledged that bail is not an option but requested that the judge continue the “highest level of supervised release” for Ponsetto.
The Harrold family filed a lawsuit against Ponsetto back in May, but that case is still pending.
“Soho Karen’s” court hearing is set for October 20, which is expected to be an in-person hearing. We will keep you updated with the latest developments on the charges.