An Iowa woman who allegedly admitted to intentionally running over a black child and a Latina child with her car has pleaded guilty to hate crime charges.
Nicole Poole Franklin, 43, entered the pleas Wednesday in a Des Moines federal court in the two separate attacks on Dec. 9, 2019, the Des Moines Register reported.
Prosecutors allege Franklin intentionally ran over a black 12-year-old boy, injuring one of his legs, as he walked on a sidewalk around 3:45 p.m.
She later claimed that she thought the boy was of Middle Eastern descent and was in the Islamic State terrorist group.
About 20 minutes later, Franklin mowed down a 14-year-old Latina girl on a sidewalk, prosecutors said. The girl was left with injuries that required her to be hospitalized for two days.
Nicole Poole Franklin could face up to life in prison for the federal hate crime charges. KRCGFranklin told authorities that she struck the girl because “she is Mexican.”
Around an hour after the hit-and-run, she was arrested at a local gas station, where cops said she had hurled items at a clerk and customers as she yelled racial slurs.
The 14-year-old girl Nicole Poole Franklin struck with her car had to be hospitalized two days for injuries stemming from the attack. KCCI 8She has said she suffers from schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The federal charges for violating the US Hate Crime Act carry sentences of up to life in prison.
Franklin also pleaded guilty earlier in the week to two state charges of attempted murder — which could each net her up to 25 years in prison.
Nicole Poole Franklin said she suffers from mental health issues, including schizophrenia. Press CitizenUS prosecutors have recommended she be sentenced to 27 years behind bars and that her federal sentence be served at the same time as her state sentence.
With Post wires
