A man accused of assaulting or harassing at least five people in New York City last year, including a woman who documented her injury on TikTok, has been charged with “anti-women, anti-white and anti-Semitic” hate crimes. . ”Attacks, say prosecutors.
Skiboky Stora, 40, is charged with three counts of third-degree assault as a hate crime, one count of third-degree stalking as a hate crime and second-degree aggravated harassment for the incidents that spanned from September 2023 to March 2024 , O Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Stora, from Brooklyn, was previously arrested in March on assault charges, accused of hitting a woman in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The woman documented the bizarre injury on TikTok.
In that case, the 23-year-old white woman was walking in Chelsea on March 25 when she passed Stora and he “hit her in the head, causing her to fall to the ground,” authorities said. She suffered pain and swelling on the left side of her head, the prosecutor’s office said.
“Guys, I was literally walking and a man came up and punched me in the face,” she said through tears. video. “Oh my God, it hurts so much. I can’t even speak.”
She was one of several women who posted on the platform describing how they were punched or attacked while walking the streets of Manhattan.
“Skiboky Stora allegedly committed a series of hate-motivated incidents against multiple individuals based on their perceived gender, race and religion,” said District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg. “No one should fear for their safety because of their identity.”
The series of attacks allegedly began on September 20 last year, when Stora walked past a 17-year-old white student in Chelsea and allegedly elbowed him in the neck and said: “You guys think you can do whatever the fuck you want. want,” the public prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Then, on the morning of Oct. 26, a 37-year-old woman described as “light-skinned” walked past Stora in Chelsea, and as she passed, he elbowed her in the left shoulder, causing pain and bruising, authorities said.
A month later, on November 18, a white Jewish couple was walking their dogs in Union Square when the couple’s 28-year-old wife saw Stora tearing up posters about kidnapped Israeli hostages and took a photo of him.
Stora noticed the couple staring at him, began following them and allegedly shouted “anti-white and anti-Semitic comments,” including “Fuck you white boy.”
A woman invited the couple into her apartment so they could get away from Stora, who allegedly followed them into the building’s lobby shouting, “Die, Jews, Die!” prosecutors said.
His series of attacks apparently culminated in the attack on the woman who posted on TikTok. Stora was arrested two days later in connection with the latest incident and pleaded not guilty in that case.
He was arraigned Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to hate crime charges. Stora is representing himself in court, according to court records. His next hearing is scheduled for August 6.
Stora has sought public office in New York since 2021 and participated in a 2021 New York City mayoral debate, NBC News previously reported, citing public records. In 2022, he submitted a handwritten petition to be elected Governor of New York. Last year, records show, Stora ran for the District 9 seat on the New York City Council.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
