We often come across Karens behaving badly in public places – whether that be at a park, big-box store or on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, these entitled white women often possess an underlying racist sentiment which fuels their actions.
These cases and trials demonstrate how entitled Karens have been charged with a crime and brought to trial due to their unlawful behavior. We hope these stories serve as reminders of just how far we still need to go in terms of confronting racism and white supremacy in our society.
SoHo Karen
In December 2020, a woman known as “SoHo Karen” went viral after she was caught on camera verbally abusing and assaulting a Black teenager in the lobby of a Manhattan hotel. As a result, his family filed a civil lawsuit against her, the hotel, and other parties involved.
Court documents filed Monday reveal internal emails from the hotel demonstrating its response to the viral video of the incident, including placing its own security staff on alert. Furthermore, it is named as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by Keyon Harrold and Katty Rodriguez – parents of the teen.
Video footage showed 23-year-old Miya Ponsetto tackling and assaulting Harrold, 14, as she claimed the teen stole her phone. After leaving it in an Uber, police were able to track it on social media until extradition to New York to face charges.
Ponsetto was charged with unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime, aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child. She could face up to 10 years in prison.
Her lawyer maintains that the case has been mishandled, and he desires a swift resolution of the hate crime charge within months.
Ponsetto has already been found guilty of falsely accusing the teenager, and she faces jail time if she violates her probation or plea deal. Fortunately, the judge in her case has given her until April 2022 to reach a deal that avoids jail time.
Zombie Karen
The Zombie Karen case made headlines around the globe when a woman from Louisiana appeared to be in a zombie state and was captured on video licking a bar window while repeatedly smashing her body through it and shouting racist slurs at a Black man filming her.
After posting a video to Twitter, the woman quickly gained notoriety and was known as ‘Zombie Karen.’
She was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison but her lawyer Matthew Litt successfully appealed the court’s decision, explaining that there was still time for them to overturn her conviction.
It was claimed that she had committed no crime and was simply defending herself in the hospital. However, the judge rejected this argument, insisting that she must prove her innocence.
Karen claimed in court that she was discriminated against when treated as a ward of the state and experienced racism while at Smith’s Grove. Furthermore, Karen maintained her civil rights had been denied to her.
The court found her to be a victim of racial discrimination and wrongful imprisonment, suffering severe emotional distress including deprivation of mental health. Furthermore, Templeton had lied to her about her status and made false statements to police, according to her attorney.
Dog Park Karen
This case is unique in that a White woman called the cops on a Black man for asking her dog to be leashed, which is against park rules. As the video of this incident has gone viral, many have questioned how it was handled.
Media coverage of this story has varied, yet not all outlets have sought out all perspectives. Kmele Foster, who did a podcast episode on the case, found that most outlets she spoke to didn’t mention some of the contextual factors discussed in her podcast.
For instance, many articles failed to mention that Christian Cooper had been assaulted twice by other dog owners in a park that spring. Furthermore, most left out details from Jerome Lockett’s interview.
Eventually, though, they did. The story about the dog walker who called police on a birdwatcher in Central Park has gone viral and earned her the nickname “Central Park Karen.”
It is uncertain what she plans to do with her former employer, Franklin Templeton, but it can be said she feels like a stuffed animal and has been doxxed and received death threats. Now living in Canada, she plans on filing a defamation lawsuit against Franklin Templeton as well as suing for discrimination.
SoCal Karen
Karen is the Program Manager of USC Dornsife Agents of Change: Civil Rights Advocacy Initiative, the nation’s first undergraduate civil rights clinic. With more than 30 years in family law practice and expertise in case management, pleadings, and trial preparation under her belt, Karen is well-positioned to support your case needs.
Karen is an invaluable asset to her team and clients, aiding with trial preparation, appeals, mediations and appeals. With an in-depth knowledge of California family law, Karen provides comprehensive support to attorneys throughout each step of the litigation process.
Karen has a broad litigation practice, specializing in national security and border security matters; cyber and intellectual property crime; white collar/financial crime; civil fraud; narcotics enforcement; and civil rights. She has represented major public and private companies regarding internal investigations, crisis management strategies, compliance programs, as well as contested proceedings before regulatory agencies.
Karen has extensive experience representing clients in highly-charged criminal, civil and regulatory cases such as “bet-the-company” litigation. In these instances, Karen often acts as lead counsel and provides strategic direction for the defense team.
Karen’s client, Bruce Brendlin, was arrested after a traffic stop in which police found methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia on his person and in the car. He filed a motion to suppress evidence arguing it was an unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Ultimately, the trial court denied his motion and he pleaded guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine.
Tennessee Karen
In what may be a landmark case, authorities in Alabama have arrested David Swift on charges of premeditated murder in the first degree for his wife’s death. On Monday in Dyer County, Tenn., Swift was indicted for the October 2011 disappearance of Karen Swift – his former wife and mother of four.
Karen Swift, known as the Kudzu Lady, went missing on October 30, 2011 after returning home from a Halloween party and was discovered dead six weeks later in her yard. She was partially dressed with a blunt-force head wound.
Although the cause of her death remains uncertain, it appears she was likely beaten to death. Though authorities haven’t yet linked it to her husband, they do believe he suffered from an emotionally repressed divorced alcoholic who lacked self-control and showed little regard for his wife’s wishes.
Avoiding a similar tragedy by remaining calm, keeping your wits about you and sticking to the facts when confronted by an overly enthusiastic customer or vendor. These tips should be useful whether traveling or not; no matter where life takes you, these strategies will serve you well in any circumstance.
Here is a list of the top 10 countries where you’re most likely to come across a Karen:
Bionic has conducted an interesting study analyzing the world’s most frequent complaints about businesses and products. After analyzing 1.799 reviews from Trustpilot customers, the company identified names that generated both the most buzz and complaints.
New York Karen
Karen is an empathic and committed lawyer who understands the significance of compassion when aiding those recovering from catastrophic losses and injuries. She has extensive experience representing clients at trial as well as during all phases of pre-trial proceedings in both state and federal courts.
Her practice specializes in representing healthcare practitioners and major medical centers in complex medical liability litigation. She has handled cases involving brain damage, birth trauma, spinal cord injury, wrongful death as well as insurance companies, nursing homes, and other healthcare entities.
She has represented clients in numerous high-exposure cases and achieved numerous successful verdicts and settlements. Furthermore, she lectures on the topic of taking and defending depositions.
This case involves a woman known as “Downtown Karen.” She is accused of attacking Asians and dogs in a park near South Street Seaport in Manhattan, an act which may be classified as a hate crime by the NYPD.
At trial, the defendant contended that Karen Gervasi’s death was caused by a gunshot wound to her head. This theory was supported by statements she made to friends which were admitted into evidence as evidence of Karen’s state of mind in the moments preceding her passing away.
