A New York state judge has convicted Brooklyn resident Skiboky Stora of hate crime-related charges stemming from a random assault in Manhattan and several other attacks prosecutors described as targeting strangers based on protected characteristics and identity. The convictions came as Stora, 42, represented himself during a weekslong trial in Manhattan court, according to the reporting.
The case centered on a March 25, 2024, incident in Manhattan in which prosecutors said Stora punched a then-23-year-old woman who was walking down the street. The punch knocked her to the ground and caused pain and swelling on the left side of her head, prosecutors said, and the assault drew attention after she posted about it on TikTok and others described similar attacks, according to the Associated Press.
Prosecutors also presented accounts of what they described as a broader pattern of violence and harassment. During the period between 2023 and 2024, prosecutors said Stora assaulted and harassed strangers in incidents that included anti-female, anti-white and antisemitic conduct, and a judge on Wednesday found him guilty of assaulting, stalking and harassing strangers, the Associated Press reported.
The reporting said Stora followed a couple after they had photographed him tearing down posters of Israeli hostages. Prosecutors said he then followed the husband and wife, shouting anti-white and antisemitic threats and insults, including, “Die, Jews, die!” according to the prosecutors’ description of events.
The Associated Press also reported that prosecutors used video to support the case, including a video of Stora harassing a Jewish couple. Prosecutors also showed videos he recorded of himself shouting and harassing white people, the Associated Press reported, and the judge’s verdict reflected those accounts.
Prosecutors said months earlier Stora elbowed a 17-year-old student in the neck and told her, “You people think you can do whatever you want,” using a curse word. The reporting also said he elbowed a 37-year-old woman in the shoulder, causing bruising, and then harassed the couple connected to the Israeli hostage posters.
After the conviction, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that “The victims were met with both violence and harassment simply because of who they are,” and added that “Hate crimes strike at the core of our city’s values and sense of safety.” Stora was remanded into custody after the verdict, and sentencing is scheduled for April 14, according to the Associated Press.
Stora told the court in closing remarks, as reported by the New York Post, “I never did anything racist to anybody, and I never did anything discriminating against anybody, and I never tried to injure anybody.” The Associated Press reported that messages left on his Instagram account were not immediately returned, where he said he is the “great great grandson” of the Black nationalist Marcus Garvey and that he is running for governor as a Republican.