‘Die, Jews, die!’: NYC man convicted for harassing couple who saw him rip hostage posters
NEW YORK — A US man has been convicted of hate crimes for a series of assaults, including harassing a couple who had photographed him tearing down posters of Israeli hostages who were at the time held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Skiboky Stora followed the husband and wife, shouting anti-white and antisemitic threats and insults, including “Die, Jews, die!” according to prosecutors.
A New York state court judge on Wednesday found Stora guilty of assaulting, stalking and harassing strangers in what prosecutors described as a series of anti-female, anti-white and antisemitic incidents between 2023 and 2024.
The 42-year-old Brooklyn resident, who also randomly punched a woman walking down a Manhattan street nearly two years ago, represented himself during the weeks-long trial in Manhattan court.
“I never did anything racist to anybody, and I never did anything discriminating against anybody, and I never tried to injure anybody,” he said in his closing remarks, the New York Post reported.
Prosecutors, however, showed a video of Stora harassing the Jewish couple as well as videos he recorded of himself shouting and harassing white people, according to the Post.
“The victims were met with both violence and harassment simply because of who they are,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement after the conviction. “Hate crimes strike at the core of our city’s values and sense of safety.”
Stora was remanded into custody, and his sentencing is scheduled for April 14.
Messages left on his Instagram account, where he claims to be the “great great grandson” of the Black nationalist Marcus Garvey and running for governor as a Republican, weren’t immediately returned.
The March 25, 2024, assault on a then-23-year-old woman attracted wide attention after the victim posted about it on TikTok and several other people described similar attacks.
Stora’s punch knocked the woman to the ground and caused pain and swelling on the left side of her head, prosecutors said.
@halleykate ♬ original sound – halley
♬ original sound – halley
Months earlier, prosecutors said, Stora elbowed a 17-year-old student in the neck and said, “You people think you can do whatever you want,” using a curse word.
He also elbowed a 37-year-old woman in the shoulder, causing bruising, in another incident.
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antisemitism in the US
