Stora’s conviction came after a weekslong trial in Manhattan court in which he represented himself, according to The Associated Press. Prosecutors said the case involved not just a single street encounter but what they described as a series of incidents that targeted strangers across 2023 and 2024, including attacks tied to gender, race, and antisemitism.
In the ruling, the judge found Stora guilty of assaulting, stalking and harassing strangers, the AP reported. The conviction followed prosecutors’ account that incidents included direct physical contact and confrontations on public sidewalks, along with harassment directed at people prosecutors said he targeted because of their identities.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that prosecutors presented evidence showing victims were met with both violence and harassment simply because of who they are. “Hate crimes strike at the core of our city’s values and sense of safety,” Bragg said after the conviction, as reported by the AP.
One of the incidents prosecutors described in court occurred on March 25, 2024, when Stora punched a woman who was walking down a Manhattan street, the AP said. Prosecutors said the victim was then 23 years old and that the punch knocked her to the ground and caused pain and swelling on the left side of her head; the incident drew wide attention after the victim posted about it on TikTok and other platforms, according to the report.
Prosecutors also described earlier episodes, including an incident in which Stora elbowed a 17-year-old student in the neck and, prosecutors said, told her, “You people think you can do whatever you want,” using a curse word. The report also said prosecutors described an incident in which Stora elbowed a 37-year-old woman in the shoulder, causing bruising, and then went on to harass a couple.
The court evidence described by prosecutors included videos, the AP reported. Prosecutors said they showed a video of Stora harassing a Jewish couple and also displayed videos of Stora recorded shouting and harassing white people. In the episode involving the husband and wife—described by prosecutors as people who had photographed him tearing down posters of Israeli hostages—prosecutors said Stora followed them and shouted anti-white and antisemitic threats and insults, including: “Die, Jews, die!”
Stora, described by the AP as a 42-year-old Brooklyn resident, made statements during closing remarks and told the court, “I never did anything racist to anybody, and I never did anything discriminating against anybody, and I never tried to injure anybody,” the report said, citing the New York Post. Prosecutors did not say they accepted that account, and the AP reported that the evidence they presented included the videos described in court.
After the conviction, Stora was remanded into custody, and sentencing is scheduled for April 14, according to the AP report. The AP said messages left on Stora’s Instagram account, where he claims to be a “great great grandson” of Marcus Garvey and running for governor as a Republican, were not immediately returned.