Woman admits to hitting kids because of their ethnicity

An Iowa woman who tried to kill two children in 2019 by hitting them with her car because she thought they were of Middle Eastern, African or Mexican descent has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and hate crime charges, authorities said.

The woman, Nicole Poole Franklin, 43, made the admission to two counts of hate crime charges on Wednesday, according to federal prosecutors. She faces life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 for each of the charges, the Justice Department said in a statement Thursday.

“Nicole Poole Franklin attempted to kill two children because she thought they came from another country,” Pamela S. Karlan, principal deputy assistant attorney general of the department’s civil rights division, said in the statement. “All people in the United States, regardless where they come from, have the right to be free from fear of violence because of who they are.”

According to a plea agreement for the hate crime charges, Poole Franklin was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee on Dec. 9, 2019, in Des Moines when she saw two children who she believed were of Middle Eastern or African descent on the sidewalk. She intentionally drove the vehicle up the curb and onto the sidewalk, striking one of them and causing injuries, the document said. She then drove away. Less than an hour later, she saw another child who she believed to be of Mexican descent and hit the child with the car, causing serious injuries, the court filing said.