SoHo Hotel Confrontation: Parents Of Black Teen Wrongly Accused Of Stealing Phone Call For Boycott Of Arlo Hotel
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The parents of a Black teen who was attacked and wrongly accused of stealing a woman's cell phone are calling for an end to racial profiling and a boycott of the hotel where the incident happened.
"If you are staying in the Arlo Hotel anywhere in the United States, check out," protesters said.
Supporters of 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. rallied outside the Arlo SoHo Hotel on Saturday.
Surveillance video appears to show 22-year-old Miya Ponsetto violently confronting the teen after falsely accusing him of taking her phone in the hotel lobby in December.
Harrold's family says the manager also approached the boy and asked to see the phone.
"They automatically asked him for the phone. His rights were violated at that moment," mom Kat Rodriguez said.
"I say shut down the racism, shut down the profiling. As a patron, you should have the right to simply be," dad Keyon Harrold Sr. said.
CBS2 reached out to the Arlo Hotel for comment but have not heard back.
Ponsetto now faces multiple charges, including attempted robbery and attempted assault.
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