Hate Crimes and Bias‑Motivated Violence

A New York state judge has convicted 42‑year‑old Skiboky Stora of hate‑crime assault, stalking and harassment for a series of unprovoked attacks and threats against women, white victims and a Jewish couple in Manhattan between 2023 and 2024. Prosecutors said Stora’s most widely known assault occurred March 25, 2024, when he randomly punched a 23‑year‑old woman walking in Manhattan — an incident that gained broad attention after she described it on TikTok — knocking her to the ground and causing head injuries. Months earlier he elbowed a 17‑year‑old student in the neck while cursing, and in another incident elbowed a 37‑year‑old woman, leaving bruising. In a separate confrontation he harassed a couple photographing him tearing down posters of Israeli hostages, following them and shouting anti‑white and antisemitic threats, including 'Die, Jews, die!', behavior the Manhattan district attorney said showed victims were targeted 'simply because of who they are.' Stora, who represented himself at trial and denied being racist or intending injury, was remanded and faces sentencing on April 14, in a case that underscores New York’s use of hate‑crime statutes to address bias‑motivated street violence that often first surfaces via viral social‑media posts.