Top 20 Times Karens Faced Justice

At the end of 2020, a video went viral that showcased the later-named SoHo Karen. Taking place at the Arlo Hotel in SoHo, Manhattan, New York, Miya Ponsetto couldn’t find her phone. Instead of being calm and rational, she decided to accuse a random Black person, the 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr, of stealing it. He didn’t have it. With Ponsetto also losing patience with Harold’s father, she tackled the young boy to the ground, all of which was caught on camera. In the aftermath, a warrant was issued for her arrest. After a brief car chase, the cops got her. But she made it worse for herself by resisting. She pled guilty to a felony hate crime and received two years of probation.

For some reason, Karens seem to flock to dog parks. It’s bizarre how often this seems to happen. In 2021, author Frederick Joseph and his partner enjoyed a night walk with their pup in Brooklyn, New York. Suddenly, they were harassed by a woman. According to Joseph and a bystander in the video, the woman threatened to get the cops involved and told the couple to “stay in [their] hood.” This was all because the dog was barking loudly at night. There’s just one problem: she got another apparently loud dog mixed up with Joseph’s. After the video spread online, she was ID’ed as Emma Sarley. Once her employer, software firm Bevy, heard about the incident and her discriminatory behavior, Sarley was fired.

Sometimes, it’s the little things in life. A rainbow, the smell of cut grass, and a Karen actually named Karen. In 2021, Karen Turner attempted to shop in a grocery store in Ohio. But since the pandemic was underway, people were on edge. Well, not Turner, who refused to wear a mask. The store’s staff told her to leave, but she stubbornly didn’t. We’re not sure what she was expecting here, but it probably wasn’t the police turning up. Bodycam footage shows Turner being as uncooperative as possible with the cops. As they attempt to take her handbag from her, she hilariously screams: [SB: “illegal search.”] Turner was fined $573, plus court costs, for her strange protest.

Here’s a woman who ticks off loads of boxes on the Karen bingo card. In 2022, TikTok user “iriskessler” posted a weird interaction that occurred outside a Mexican restaurant near her work. A customer known as Ariel accused the place of serving her cat meat instead of chicken. It's a bit weird that she apparently knows what cat meat tastes like. She then threw things at the restaurant’s windows and threatened further violence against them. As “iriskessler” and others stood outside to stop her from returning, Ariel spat out various insults and homophobic remarks while they waited for the cops to come. Her nonchalant demeanor soon went out the window as she was bundled into the back of the police car while screaming.

Imagine a plague where zombies are created. That’s already grim. Well, now picture a zombie Karen…sorry for that image. In 2020, an unnamed woman was reportedly told to leave a Louisiana bar and wasn’t let back in. It isn’t hard to see why. With the door closed, she didn’t take the news well. She threw herself against the glass multiple times while yelling. She then began licking the door for some reason. Not getting anywhere with her “Walking Dead” schtick, she tried to bust in using her head. She also accused the person filming of being racist…riiiight. By the end of the video, we see her being taken by police. She probably felt so silly the following day…hopefully.

Babies and planes can be a rough mix. But in 2018, Susan Peirez handled things really poorly. Complaining about having to sit next to a young child and insulting the mom, Peirez seemingly wanted to be moved, but this wasn’t do-able. She subsequently demanded the name of the flight attendant, Tabitha. Once she got it, she basically implied that she could get the worker fired. Well, Tabitha wasn’t going to let that slide. She called for Peirez, now with a surprised Pikachu face, to be removed from the plane. The Karen tried to say she was sorry, but the damage was done. Her employer, the New York State Council on the Arts, suspended her.

It’s not every day a Karen tells on themselves. It makes our job a little bit easier though. In 2021, worldwide events caused Karens in all fields to get…weird. One working at a medical center in Kentucky decided this was going to be the hill she wanted to metaphorically perish on. In a video posted by the TikTok account @journeyintruth, the woman is asked to leave the building. She claims she hasn't resigned or been fired. Well, seemingly, one of those isn’t correct. In reality, the woman refused to comply with a vaccination mandate, meaning she could no longer work there. The head of security demands her and a fellow like-minded colleague’s badge, while she flicks her foot about and refuses to comply.

In 2018, a woman claimed to have been assaulted by a young boy in a corner store in Brooklyn, New York. That’s shocking and horrific, right?! In a video released online, we see the apparent victim, Teresa Klein, calling the cops on the young family as the children cry. However, her version of events was very, very wrong. CCTV showed that as the boy walked out of the store, his backpack lightly grazed her. So she put this family through unnecessary stress over nothing. She apologized to the falsely accused Black child after the truth came out, but her words were widely seen as insufficient. There was talk of an investigation into her actions, and while she wasn’t arrested, she was mocked and called out.

Even politicians can be Karens! Marjorie Taylor Greene is one of the most controversial figures in the US. If she isn’t spouting conspiracy theories, then she’s showing her pro-virus tendencies during a pandemic. Greene refused to wear a mask in Congress, despite it being required. She ignored this easy-to-follow mandate many times. When a person breaks this House rule, they’re fined $500 the first time, then $2500 for each following incident. Usually, the amount is taken off the representative’s salary. In January 2022, Greene claimed she had been fined nearly $90,000 as a result of her ignoring the directive. Using math, that means she’d flouted the decree around 37 times at that point…yikes.

Nobody likes to be told they can’t do something. But sometimes, it’s best to just listen and take the L. In 2020, a woman arrived at the World Gym in New Taipei, Taiwan. However, she wanted to bring her cat in with her. We can only assume she needed a trusted spotter. After attempting this numerous times in the past and reportedly having her membership taken away, she tried once more. But this time, she used violent threats. Then, still not getting her way, she took all her clothes off, stormed into the gym, and began working out. About thirty minutes later, the police arrived and arrested her after making sure she was dressed.

In 2020, as a group of George Floyd protestors went through a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, all was fine. Well, it was until Patricia and Mark Thomas McCloskey came out of their house yelling and pointing firearms at the protestors. Due to their bizarre actions, the two were invited to appear at that year’s Republican National Convention, where they criticized the Black Lives Matter movement. In 2021, the McCloskeys pled guilty to misdemeanor offenses. This resulted in fines for the pair and the destruction of their notorious weapons. However, the Missouri governor Mike Parson pardoned them. In 2022, the Supreme Court of Missouri indefinitely suspended their law licenses, but then gave them a year’s probation instead.

When the worldwide events kicked in during 2020, most people rallied and helped each other out. But there’s always some that ruin it for everyone else. In 2021 in Nebraska, a woman was filmed in a grocery store without a mask on. Already off to a rough start. When questioned about it by masked shoppers, she patronizingly calls them “cute” and “sheep.” And, oh yeah, she dramatically coughs at people while claiming she has “allergies.” After the video went viral, the coughing woman's identity was discovered to be Janene Hoskovec. Her employers at German software company SAP caught wind of what had happened and fired Hoskovec for her disregard for the public's health and safety.

Ah, more anti-mask people. In 2020, Amber Gilles posted an image on Facebook of Starbucks barista Lenin Gutierrez in San Diego, California. She claimed she was refused service for not wearing a mask, and she wasn't best pleased. And it didn’t have quite the effect she was going for. Instead, a GoFundMe page was created for Gutierrez to give him tips for standing up to Gilles. Currently, it has over $105,000! Well, Gilles wasn’t happy. In 2021, she decided to sue Matt Cowan, who created the GoFundMe page. She claimed that a screenshot of her original post included in the fundraiser violated her rights. The suit was dismissed by a judge. However, Gilles is appealing the decision.

It’s the video that launched a thousand memes. In 2018, a group of people were enjoying the nice weather by having a barbecue at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. Well, not on Jennifer Schulte’s watch! She told the group that they couldn't be there for a barbecue and that she apparently owned the park – she doesn’t. She then proceeds to call the police. She even takes and refuses to give back one person’s I.D. Eventually, the cops arrive with Schulte sobbing over the incident. They assessed her for a psychiatric hold but felt she didn’t fit the criteria. After this event, Oakland residents came together at the site to have a large cookout, probably causing Schulte a sleepless night with all those grilled goodies.

In San Francisco in 2020, James Juanillo was stenciling a B.L.M message on his OWN wall. But someone asks for his attention. As he turns, he’s greeted with one of the most terrifying expressions a person can have in the shape of Lisa Alexander. Juanillo is then told by her that he shouldn’t do that on other people’s property. He plays along for a bit until Alexander states she knows the wall isn’t his as she knows the person whose it is. Uh-oh. Juanillo then goads them into calling the cops, which they do. After the video went viral, Alexander apologized for calling the police. Several companies also cut ties with the skincare firm she’s C.E.O of.

In 2020, with the world struggling with restrictions, Melissa Rein Lively in Scottsdale, Arizona, went to a nearby Target and recorded herself wrecking their display of face masks while yelling “it’s over,” in reference to the pandemic. When confronted by Target staff, she – for some reason – brings up her $40,000 Rolex. Ya see, Lively had fallen prey to the QAnon conspiracy cult. She had fallen down a rabbit hole of misinformation that had slowly filled her with irrational rage. After the video spread online, she returned home to find her husband had called the police to take her in for a psychiatric evaluation. After her treatment, Lively saw QAnon for what it is and became an advocate against it.

In 2018 in San Francisco, 8-year-old Jordan Rodgers was saving up to afford to go to Disneyland. This entrepreneur did this by selling cold bottled water on the street, right outside her house, for $2. Well, because people hate plucky kids, apparently, Alison Ettel decided to intervene. In a video, she is shown calling the cops on Rodgers for not having a permit. Ettel claims the yelling about the water being for sale for hours on end is what drove her to make the harsh decision. After the video was uploaded, Ettel was nicknamed “Permit Patty” by the wonderful internet. Due to the backlash, she was later forced to resign as C.E.O of TreatWell Health.

Sometimes, U.S. senators like to think of themselves as untouchable. Well, in 2021, Alaska State Senator Lora Reinbold learned this isn’t always the case. She was videoed at Juneau International Airport, arguing with staff over their mask rules. In a classic Karen move, whenever a member of staff asked her to wear it properly, she wrote down their name for daring to question her authority. Later on, Reinbold called it “mask tyranny.” With all the online backlash to the video, Alaska Airlines stated they told Reinbold she’s no longer allowed to fly with them. As a result, she asked to be excused from legislative sessions until next year since traveling was now a nightmare for her. Whoops.

Sometimes, being a Karen can be a family affair. And that was the case in 2021 in Tennessee. Johnny Martinez, who was doing his job checking vehicle permits in a residential building’s car park, was accosted by mother and son, Bitsy and Edward Brennan. They demand to see his I.D. and state he shouldn’t be there. Martinez refuses to go along with their antics. Out of nowhere, Edward attacks Martinez since he’s recording on his phone. Bitsy then calls the cops. Edward then tries to gaslight the video camera by claiming he never touched Martinez… riiiiiiight. In the aftermath, Edward was served with an arrest warrant for assault and Bitsy was fired as an investment broker at U.B.S.

In 2020, Christian Cooper went to watch birds in New York’s Central Park. But he spots namesake Amy Cooper with an unleashed dog, which they need to be in that area. So, Christian asked her to put a leash on the pup. Instead of realizing her mistake and being sorry, she goes all Sith and refuses. Christian records the scary part where she announces that she'll call the cops and recklessly claim, “an African-American man [is] threatening my life” when he was doing no such thing. It’s also really distressing seeing her yank her dog’s collar all over the place. After the video came out, Franklin Templeton Investments fired Amy. She was also charged with several crimes, but those charges were later dropped.