Fringe political candidate who ran for NYC mayor accused of sucker-punching TikTokker
The man who allegedly sucker-punched a TikTok influencer in New York City is a perennial down-ballot political candidate who ran for mayor, governor and City Council in the past three years.
Skiboky Stora, 40, of East New York, was charged with assault Wednesday in connection with a random Monday attack on Halley Kate, the NYPD said after the influencer told her 1.1 million followers about being punched in the face by a stranger as she walked the streets of Chelsea Monday.
The suspect was set to appear in Manhattan court on Wednesday morning for a previous arrest, court dockets show. He is a frequent candidate for elected office and performing artist who records rap music under the name Designer Attitude.
In a music video posted to his Facebook page, Stora is seen punching the air while boasting of his wealth and status as a comic book-style “Pow” graphic jumps onto the screen.
Kate’s viral video attracted garnered more than 41 million views, as several other women took to the platform to share that they too had recently been sucker punched in Manhattan.
Police did not say if Stora was a suspect in any of the other incidents.
Kate posted a clip on Tuesday in which she praised New York for “given me everything I’m grateful for,” and said she believed her attack was an isolated incident.
“I am not hear to argue that New York City can be really scary at times, but I have lived here for six years, and I have not had anything even remotely similar happen,” she said.
Kate shared she thought the platform’s algorithm boosted other women’s stories of getting punched, which she didn’t think were related.
“From listening to a lot of those girl’s videos it didn’t really sound like it was the same person. I think it might just be a somewhat common thing that happens in big cities,” she said, while adding she was now “more aware of her surroundings.”
“But I don’t want it to seem like 13 girls got punched in the face yesterday, and if you come to New York City, you’re for sure going to get punched in the face,” she said.
Stora, her alleged attacker, made an unsuccessful City Council bid in District 9 last year, losing to Democrat Yusef Salaam, who was falsely convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park in 1989 along with four other black teens.
He ran on the Freedom Party and ultimately failed to secure a spot on the ballot, according to Ballotpedia.
In 2022, he was a “withdrawn or disqualified” Republican gubernatorial candidate, the site said. Lee Zeldin eventually won the party’s nomination and lost to Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul.
During a mayoral debate for fringe candidates hosted by Gotham Gazette in 2021, Stora, running under the Out Lawbreaker Party ticket, recounted how he had been shot while living in a homeless shelter in 2005.
He later unsuccessfully sued the Department of Homeless Services and a security contractor for failing to prevent the suspect from climbing over the wall of the facility and opening fire at him, according to City Limits.
“The main thing the Mayor Skiboky administration would be known for is people in certain positions being held accountable,” the candidate said at the debate.
“You know, you know, little kids is being gunned down in New York every single day. No, where the cops them at? You know, it doesn’t take a science rocket with titles and degrees to know that the city is corrupted.”
Stora, who says online that he is the great-great-grandson of Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican political activist, notched 264 votes in the general election, falling more than 750,000 votes shy of Democrat Eric Adams, Ballotpedia noted.
