Who is Skiboki Stora? Man who attacked TikTok user Halley Kate and berated Jews in New York convicted on hate crime charges

Stolla was found guilty of a third-degree hate crime after a bench trial before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Josh Hanshaft, the New York Post reported. After a four-week trial, the judge took just 30 minutes to deliver his verdict. Stora acted as his own attorney at the trial.

Stolla was also found guilty of a third-degree hate crime and second-degree aggravated harassment. The judge has not yet decided whether Stolla’s multiple felony convictions will run consecutively. If sentenced concurrently, he faces up to four years in prison.

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“I’ve never done anything racist to anyone, I’ve never done anything to discriminate against anyone, I’ve never tried to hurt anyone,” Stolla said in her closing argument.

His brief speech ended in less than 15 minutes. When the judge asked him if that was all he could say, Stolla responded “God bless America” ​​three times.

He will be sentenced on April 14.

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Edward Smith said Stolla “should not be given the sanction of the court” because he continued to lie and deny involvement in hate crimes.

“The defendant in this case did not choose his victims because they were in his way or because they hit him,” Smith said.

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“The defendants chose their victims because they were white, light-skinned – because they were women, because they were Jewish,” he added.

Prosecutors showed at trial several videos Stolla recorded himself, in which he can be seen shouting hate speech against white people.

Those who testified include TikTok user Halley McGookin, also known as Halley Kate. She was told that the attack upset her so much that she immediately apologized to her attacker, saying she was sorry “because he screamed at me and used a lot of profanity and said it was my fault.” She was shot near West 17th Street near Seventh Avenue while recording a podcast.

The evidence also included footage of a verbal attack on a white Jewish couple inside the 16th Street building. In November 2023, they made eye contact with Stora on the street as he tore down a poster of Israeli hostages.

“I guarantee you, white boy, the Muslims come from you,” Stora shouted.

“You will die—Jews!” he added.

According to prosecutors, Stolla repeatedly “perceived herself as superior to all women, especially white women.” They also claimed that his Instagram videos showed a general hatred of white people.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued a statement after the conviction, saying in a statement, “Victims were subjected to violence and harassment simply because of who they were. Hate crimes strike at the core of our city’s values ​​and sense of safety, and I thank the hard-working prosecutors in our Hate Crimes Unit for presenting a rigorous case and securing this conviction.”