Hungarian camerawoman who was caught on video kicking Syrian refugees has been charged

Nearly one year ago, Hungarian journalist Petra László became an unwanted viral star when footage of her kicking at Syrian refugees — including children — circulated on the internet. The resulting outrage, László would later say, "ruined" her life: she was fired from her job, became virtually unhireable anywhere else, received target of death threats from around the world, and turned into a symbol of violent intolerance towards Syrian refugees.

Now she's got criminal charges to add to the list.

See photos from the incident

Hungary filed charges against László on Wednesday, accusing her of disorderly conduct but stopping short of charging her with assault or a hate crime. According to Reuters, prosecutors did not see any evidence that the attack was racially motivated. They said that she merely kicked at a man running with a small child in his arms, and he tripped and fell as a police officer tried to restrain him. They also acknowledged that while she landed her kicks on a girl and another man, there was no "reasonable chance" that she could "cause injury."

László was filming Syrian refugees and migrants as they attempted to avoid police and run into Hungary. She later claimed that the kicks were in response to being scared as hundreds of migrants broke through police lines and some rushed towards her, and apologized for her actions. But a month after that, she was threatening to sue Facebook and the man she is now charged with kicking at but not actually tripping. László claimed that the man, who eventually made it to Spain with his family, where he works as a soccer coach, changed his story from blaming the police officer for tripping him to blaming her. Facebook, she said, was deleting groups that supported her but left up groups attacking her, even after she complained.

László said she planned to file the lawsuit once the criminal case against her had finished, and was considering moving to Russia.

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