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The woman who falsely accused the teenage son of a black jazz musician of stealing his cell phone from a Manhattan hotel broke her silence, saying she was “worried” about the fallout – but maintains her claim that she was assaulted during the hubbub.
The 22-year-old spoke to CNN on Tuesday about the viral video in which she saw 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. in the lobby of the Arlo hotel in Soho, claiming he had slipped his iPhone.
The woman – whose name was not disclosed to CNN – said that when she realized her phone was missing, she first demanded to see surveillance video from the hotel lobby.
She then asked everyone in the lobby to “empty their pockets,” before choosing Keyon Jr. as her suspect.
“That’s when it all got a bit more serious,” she told CNN in a telephone interview.
The woman, who in the video appears to be white, then pounced on the teenager and his father, jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold Sr., who was defending his son against the charges.
During a brawl not fully captured on video, the elder Harrold said, the woman clawed him and attacked the teenager.
He said shortly after the melee an Uber driver showed up with the woman’s missing phone.
NYPD said it plans to hit woman with raps that could include assault, grand theft or attempted robbery, while Mayor Bill de Blasio called the argument “outright” racism .
“Of course, I worry. It’s not who I am, ”the woman told CNN when asked if she had any concerns about possible criminal charges and her portrayal in the viral clip. “I actually try really hard to make sure I’m always doing the right thing.”
She told the outlet that she was willing to cooperate with an NYPD investigation, but has yet to hear from investigators.
The woman added that she would be open to speaking with the Harrolds.
She told CNN that she could and would provide proof that she was assaulted during the incident, but then stopped responding to messages from the media.
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