More than 98,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the arrest of “Soho Karen” Miya Ponsetto after her viral rant falsely accusing a black teenager of stealing her iPhone.
The petition, posted by Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights lawyer representing the family of Keyon Harrold Jr., comes as calls grow for Manhattan prosecutors to charge Ponsetto in the Dec. 26 incident at a Soho hotel.
“Keyon Harrold Jr. will live with this trauma for life, the weight of racism on the shoulders of another generation,” Crump wrote online. “He deserves better than this treatment!”
The petition seeks 200,000 signatures.
Protesters this weekend also gathered outside a police station in Los Angeles, where Ponsetto is now laying low, calling for her arrest in New York over the incident.
Harrold, the 14-year-old son of jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold Sr., was with his dad at the Arlo Hotel when Ponsetto accosted him and accused him of stealing her iPhone — which was later returned to her by an Uber driver.
During the encounter Ponsetto is seen tussling with the teen.
The elder Harrold posted the video on his Instagram page.
Last week, NYPD officials said the case, originally classified as harassment, could be upgraded based on footage of the encounter, which shows Ponsetto grabbing the teenager’s leg and attempting to tackle him.
Crump’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Share this article:
Source: Read Full Article