Woman who falsely accused Black teen of stealing her phone at NYC hotel makes plea deal
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Woman who falsely accused Black teen of stealing her phone at NYC hotel makes plea deal
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A woman who was caught on camera attacking a Black teenager in a New York City hotel lobby after accusing him of stealing her cellphone agreed to a plea deal on Monday. Miya Ponsetto, 23, of California, pleaded guilty to unlawful imprisonment in the second degree as a hate crime, according to the Manhattan District Attorney.
Ponsetto, also known as "SoHo Karen," was thrust into the national spotlight after footage of the incident went viral on social media in December 2020. She attacked 14-year old Keyon Harrold, Jr. and his father in the lobby of the Arlo Hotel in SoHo, accusing the teen of stealing her iPhone. Her lawyer later confirmed she actually left the phone in an Uber.
"Ms. Ponsetto displayed outrageous behavior," District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. said in a statement Monday. "As a Black man, I have personally experienced racial profiling countless times in my life and I sympathize with the young man victimized in this incident. This plea ensures appropriate accountability for Ms. Ponsetto by addressing underlying causes for her behavior and ensuring this conduct does not reoccur."
Ponsetto's lawyer, Paul D'Emilia, said that she is pleased her plea deal can bring the "unfortunate misunderstanding" to a close.
"Ms. Ponsetto looks forward to her eventual final plea to the Harassment charge - a plea that we feel more realistically reflects her actions that night at the Arlo Hotel," D'Emilia said. "It is Ms. Ponsetto's wish that Keyon Harrold accepts her regrets and apology for her behavior that evening, and that all involved can move forward with added insight and compassion."
In an exclusive interview on "CBS Mornings," which took place hours before her initial arrest in January 2021, Ponsetto denied that her actions were racially motivated.
"I'm sincerely sorry to the family and the dad and the son for making them feel as if I was racist," Ponsetto told co-host Gayle King, before becoming extremely combative.
"The footage shows me attacking his son, attacking him how? Yelling at him, OK, I apologize. Can we move on? Basically I'm a 22-year-old girl. I am, I don't — racism — how is one girl accusing a guy about a phone a crime?"
Under the conditions for her plea deal, Ponsetto will be required to continue counseling, avoid interaction with the criminal justice system and follow the terms of her probation from a separate California case. If she maintains those conditions for two years, she will be allowed to re-plead to aggravated harassment in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor. If she fails to abide by the terms, Ponsetto could spend 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison.
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I highly recommend watching the CBS video interview with her, which is something else.
I highly recommend watching the CBS video interview with her,
Good recommendation, I heard Zoe Christen Jones say that people of color can be racist - shocking!
Was that person in the video? I must have missed it.
I believe that she conducted the interview. She all but accused the Latina of racism. She asked Miya Ponsetto if being a PR meant that she couldn’t be racist, when Miya said yes, Zoe disagreed.
Do you think that someone of color can be racist?
The woman who interviewed the young lady is named Gayle King. She is one of the hosts of CBS daily morning program, and has been for many years.
Thanks, I thought I recognized her. Probably from the days when my wife watched Oprah. Gayle believes that woman of color can be racist, do you?
Zoe is the writer of your seed.
Yes people of color can be racist, although it is almost always a reaction on their part to white racism. Rev Wright was fairly condemned as being racist, but his racism against whites was entirely based on the way he thought black people in America had been treated poorly by whites.
Do you have any evidenced or just conjecture?
Which white people caused the racist reactions in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Iran, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, Philippines, Korea, etc.?
My comments are almost always about America, where we live. People in other countries have their own unique histories and racial relations. We know where white racism in America originated from. Most of the objections on this and related seeds are just deflections.
That's rather self-centered. The people of the world are just as important as you.
We know where white racism in America originated from
Yes, it started in Europe in the middle ages and linked Jews with the devil. During the Renaissance, Europeans traveled to Africa, Asia and the Americas and formed opinions of the native people there. As they began settlements in the Americas, they saw that wealth required much labor and found religious justifications for the desired economic engine - slavery.
During the 18th century, "science" began placing humans into nature and created racial categories. Many science writers claimed that the races represented separate human species. In the 19th century, nationalism and imperialism grew and the sharing between races became very competitive. Economic swings as we industrialized gave emphasis on "the survival of the fittest" and the increasing need for scapegoats.
Most of the objections on this and related seeds are just deflections.\
More unsubstantiated conjecture?
Racism is important anywhere in the world. Since I dont live "anywhere in the world" , I am more interested in what took place here in America. I guess you dont like that so , well, too bad.
In the United States racism began as a rationalization for race based slavery because the era of enlightenment made it difficult to morally defend slavery, and the "inferiority" of the Africans was invented to fill that need. It is no step at all to surmise that since blacks were "inferior" it was ok if not justified to treat them badly (racism).
It is often said that Abraham Lincoln believed blacks were inferior in many ways. Where do you think young Abraham Lincoln learned that attitude?
No, I don't care if you maintain a narrow view of the world.
In the United States racism began as a rationalization for race based slavery
The US was settled by Europeans and the beginnings of racism here, like I wrote, proceed the slavery brought to North, Central and South America by Europeans.
Gee then you would think that since Americans were not responsible for bringing it here, racism and slavery would have ended on July 4 1776. I dont remember that happening.
From the social reality that he lived in. Before his death, millions of blacks were enslaved and free blacks in the North could not vote, serve on juries or hold public office. Illinois, like other northern states restricted the settlement of free blacks. Most white people believed in racial superiority. Political debate justified the racial situation with legal, scientific, religious and social explanations. Slavery still existed in Springfield when Lincoln was working there.
Lincoln, like all people, was not immune from our complex nature with flaws, complications and contradictions. He was clearly a product of his larger society yet in the end, towered above most.
Gee then you would think that since Americans were not responsible for bringing it here, racism and slavery would have ended on July 4 1776.
Gee, why would you suppose that? We didn't have to bring it here to perpetuate it here. Do you disagree with any specifics of what I wrote about racism?
Just giving a complete stranger the benefit of the doubt, I could imagine she blamed him because he was a kid as opposed to because he was black. It’s at least a possibility.