Miya Taylor Ponsetto

A woman, 22, attacked Keyon Harrold, 40, and his son Keyon Harrold Jr., 14, on December 26, 2020 at the Arlo SoHo Boutique Hotel on 231 Hudson Street in New York City, New York, United States. A video of the encounter immediately went viral on social media.

The woman falsely accused the younger Harrold of stealing her iPhone. She was given several names such as SoHo Karen, Arlo Hotel Karen and iPhone Karen.

“Of course, I worry,” the woman told CNN on December 29, 2020. “That’s not who I am. I actually… try very hard to make sure that I am always doing the right thing.”

Disputing the account of the Harrolds of what happened, the woman claimed that she was attacked during their encounter. She said she is willing to work with the New York Police Department and have a conversation with the Harrolds.

On December 30, 2020, the Harrolds were in City Hall Park along with several people to denounce the racial profiling and false accusations the father and son recently experienced. Also present was the teenager’s mother Kat Rodriguez and their lawyer Benjamin Crump.

“The racial profiling that Keyon Harrold documented on that cellphone video, if not held accountable, leads to the racial profiling of Andre Hill being killed,” CBS New York quoted Crump as saying during the event. “It leads to the racial profiling of Ahmaud Arbery for jogging while Black,”