The man accused of punching a TikTok influencer in the face in broad daylight appeared in a New York City court after images of his injuries went viral.
Skiboky Stora, 40, was arraigned in court on Thursday in connection with the apparently random attack on Halley Kate Mcgookin.
The New York Police Department said Stora was arrested Wednesday and charged with assault, his third arrest in the past six months.
Stora has frequently run as a fringe candidate for mayor and governor and, according to the New York Daily News He interrupted prosecutors during the process.
The outlet reported that he told Judge Pamela Goldsmith: “Now they bring me here and say they have video footage of me punching someone I’ve never met and I’ve never seen.”
Skiboky Stora, 40, was arraigned in court on Thursday in connection with the apparently random attack on Halley Kate Mcgookin.
The New York Police Department said Stora was arrested Wednesday and charged with assault, his third arrest in the past six months.
Stora was arrested in connection with the assault by the judicial unit while appearing in court for other open cases.
Stora continued, “That is denying me due process, and the same officer is a white supremacist member who arrested me.”
The outlet reported that assistant prosecutor Liliana Shelanski shared statements Stora allegedly made to police after his arrest.
Shelanski is said to have told police: “She’s a ghost, who is my accuser?” You’re the one who did it, I’m looking at your hand.’
Stora was arrested in connection with the assault by the judicial squad while appearing in court for other open cases.
Stora appears to have several TikTok accounts in which he documents his aggression towards strangers, most of them women.
Mcgookin shared his traumatic experience with his 1.2 million TikTok followers recently. Moments after being punched in the face.
“Guys, I was literally walking and a man came up and punched me in the face,” Kate said in the video with tears streaming down her face.
“Oh my God, it was so bad I can’t even talk.”
The influencer also added that she lost consciousness and fell to the floor after the attack.
Stora appears to have several TikTok accounts in which he documents his aggression towards strangers, most of them women.
Mcgookin shared his traumatic experience with his 1.2 million TikTok followers moments after being punched in the face.
Kate posted a follow-up video from the safety of her apartment, revealing what she described as a “devil’s horn”-looking lump on the left side of her forehead.
“Yeah, I’m going to the hospital, oh my God, it looks like a fucking devil’s horn,” he said, after noticing the lump starting to form while filming.
In another video, Kate thanked her followers for their expressions of concern and confirmed with a doctor that she would be fine but to look for symptoms such as vomiting or loss of vision.
“I’m going to be fine, I think I’m going to recover quickly,” he said, saying he was experiencing a severe migraine.
The content creator said the man had hit her while she was looking at her phone to respond to an email.
‘I literally blacked out, so I don’t really remember. But I guess he was really angry because he had his head down; “He was walking a dog, so he took it upon himself to attack me and let me know to be aware of my surroundings,” Kate said.
After regaining consciousness, Kate said she woke up to the man yelling at her.
As Kate’s video gained traction, so did other stories from users claiming they had also been punched in the face by a strange man, sparking online outrage about public safety in New York.
The influencer, who has more than a million followers on TikTok, said she lost consciousness and fell to the ground after the attack.
After regaining consciousness, Kate said she woke up to the man yelling at her.
Since the shocking video was uploaded, many other people have echoed her claims, saying they have previously been victims of random violence in New York.
TikTok personality Mikayla Toninato says she was punched in the face while walking home from class, in a video that has garnered 7.4 million views.
Toninato said she was looking at her phone and texting when a man appeared out of nowhere and punched her in the face.
She warned her followers not to walk around with their phones and to be “super aware” of their surroundings.
Another person shared a video last week, on March 17, in which she told users that she had also been randomly beaten in New York City.
“I literally got punched on the sidewalk by a man,” Olivia Brand said in her video, which has nearly four million views.
“He says ‘I’m sorry’ and then he hits me on the head,” she said.
Another user, @malous228, revealed that she had been run over on Saturday, March 23, in Times Square while leaving the subway station.
Since the shocking video was uploaded, many other people have echoed her claims, saying they have previously been victims of random violence in New York.
Another popular TikTok star uploaded a video on Monday saying she had also been beaten in New York.
Selena Pikanab, who has over a million followers on the social media app, captioned her video: “Getting punched in New York wasn’t on my agenda today.” This happened to me around one in the afternoon and I had work immediately afterwards.’
On Tuesday morning, a TikTok user uploaded a video saying she, too, had been punched in the head.
The user, @malous228, revealed that she had been run over on Saturday, March 23 in Times Square while leaving the subway station.
She said a random man walked up and punched her in the head. The TikTokker said she is still sore and that it was a “traumatic experience.”
She also managed to obtain a video of the alleged attacker after he chased her.
Toninato recently posted an update on his social media saying that victim support would cover his medical bills.
He also added that the detective working on his case saw the man walking through the streets and arrested him; It is not clear if that man is Stora.
On Tuesday, user jesslovesblueberrybagels shared a video saying she, too, had been assaulted while holding her Kindle.
She said: ‘Just over a month ago, I was assaulted. The man punched me, punched me, spat at me and yelled at me.
‘I made a video and it was not perceived in the best way. People sent me messages calling me almost every insult in the book.
‘Someone commented that the man should have sexually assaulted me. People can really be so terrible.
‘I made a post saying people don’t believe in black women and people were just commenting that it was like a race card, you’re being dramatic either way.
‘The way all these other women who have been assaulted, the way their videos have been perceived compared to my comments section for the exact same situation, it’s literally crazy.
“It’s really frustrating how the world never believes or protects black women.”
Another woman shared a video of herself on Thursday explaining a similar situation by saying that “the copycats have started.”
She said: “A man comes up to me and attacks me, and as he attacks me he says, ‘Hang up the phone.’
“So I hit him with my umbrella and busted his lip.” She got really angry and said, “I was just teasing you, you fucking bitch.”
“The copycats have started, they arrested the guy who was hitting the white girls, but the copycats have started going north of town.”