A man who sucker-punched TikTok influencer Halley Kate in a caught-on-camera incident in Manhattan was convicted on hate-crimes charges on Wednesday, February 25. Skiboky Stora now faces up to 12 years in prison.
Stora was found guilty of assault in the third degree as a hate crime following a bench trial in front of Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Josh Hanshaft, according to the New York Post. The judge took only 30 minutes to deliver the verdict following a four-week trial. Stora acted as his own lawyer at the trial.
Stora was also convicted of stalking in the third degree as a hate crime and aggravated harassment in the second degree. The judge has yet to decide whether Stora’s multiple felony convictions will run consecutively to each other. He faces up to four years behind bars if sentenced concurrently.
Stora said in his closing arguments at the trial, “I never did anything racist to anybody, and I never did anything discriminating against anybody, and I never tried to injure anybody
His brief speech was over in under 15 minutes. When the judge asked him if that was all he had to say, Stora replied “God Bless America” three times.
He will be sentenced on April 14.
Who is Skiboky Stora?
Stora has run long-shot races for NYC mayor, and claimed to be the “great great grandson of Marcus Garvey, per the New York Post. Prosecutors have accused him of assaulting, stalking and harassing strangers on the streets of New York City, in a series of hate crimes targeting white people, Jewish people, and women.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Edward Smith said that Stora should not be “credited by the court” because he continuously lied and denied any involvement in the hate crimes.
“The defendant didn’t select the victims in this case because they were in his way or because they bumped into him,” Smith said.
“The defendant selected his victims because they were white, fair skinned — because they were women and because they were Jewish,” he added.
Prosecutors showed several of Stora’s self-recorded videos at the trial, where he can be seen shouting hate speech against white people.
Among those who testified at the trial was TikToker Halley McGookin, also known as Halley Kate. She was told that the assault rattled her so much that she immediately apologized to her attacker, saying she was sorry “because he was screaming at me, using a lot of profanity, saying it was my fault.” She was slugged near West 17th Street near Seventh Avenue while on her way to record a podcast.
Evidence also included a caught-on-camera verbal attack at a white Jewish couple inside a 16th Street building. It happened after they had made eye contact with Stora on the street while he was tearing down Israeli hostage posters in November 2023.
“I promise you white boy, the Muslims are coming from you,” Stora yelled.
“You’re going to die — Die Jew Die!” he added.
According to prosecutors, Stora repeatedly “sees himself above all women, especially white women.” They also claimed that his Instagram videos showed a general hate against whiteness.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg spoke out after the conviction, saying in a statement, “The 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, and I thank the hardworking prosecutors of our Hate Crimes Unit for presenting a rigorous case and securing this conviction.”
