The woman who falsely accused a black teen of stealing her phone denies racially profiling the boy and now claims that he had assaulted her.
In the video filmed by Grammy-winning African American jazz artist Keyon Harrold, the 22-year-old woman can be seen approaching his son Keyon Jr, 14, in the lobby of a hotel in New York City.
The ‘SoHo Karen’ then pushed and grabbed the teenager and his father as she tried to snatch his phone believing it was hers.
Only moments after the altercation, the woman’s phone was located in an Uber and returned to her.
While authorities are deciding whether to charge the 22-year-old or not, the woman spoke out to CNN and insisted ‘that’s not who I am.’ She also insisted that she was assaulted by the father and son – allegations that have not been confirmed by any witnesses or investigators as of this writing.
Keyon Jr and his parents held a press conference on Wednesday alongside civil rights Attorney Ben Crump and Reverend Al Sharpton.
Kat Rodriguez, the teen’s mother, called the incident a ‘racial injustice issue,’ adding she was left ‘heartbroken’ that her child had to experience it.
“All that we are asking is for the police to do the right thing, for the DA to do the right thing, to charge this woman with assault of a minor,” Rodriguez said during the rally.
“To the hotel, which I’m equally angry at, you are trained to use those tools. I called the hotel right after it happened, and I gave them a chance to make it right, and they didn’t. You know when they made it right? When my tribe, my community spoke up.
“It breaks my heart that this is happening to our son. This incident could have been avoided in so many ways.”
Meanwhile, Attorney Crump suggested that the incident was a part of the racial injustice narrative that “needs to change.”
Reverend Sharpton added: “When I saw this story, I thought about how I was one of those kids whose father never took him anywhere for Christmas, never had brunch with my father.
“And for this Black man to take his Black son, put him in a hotel during a pandemic, and spend Christmas with him, raising him, and to be assaulted because of the color of their skin, I wanted to stand with this man and this woman who provided for their son, and they’re being criminalized for it. The arrogance and audacity of this woman.”
During a phone call with CNN, however, the 22-year-old claimed that she was assaulted during the fight with Keyon Jr and his father. After she agreed to provide evidence to support her claim, she stopped replying to the network’s calls and messages.
According to reports, the woman first demanded to see the Arlo Hotel’s surveillance footage to see who may have stolen her cellphone.
But after her request was denied by staff, she cornered a person in the lobby to ‘empty their pockets’ before approaching Keyon Jr.
The NYPD have identified the 22-year-old and may charge her with attempted robbery or assault, the Daily Mail reported.
Speaking about the possibility of facing several charges, the woman said: “Of course I worry. That’s not who I am. I actually… try very hard to make sure that I am always doing the right thing.”
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Replaced!