Man arrested over viral New York punching once ran for mayor

After multiple women have been sharing their experiences of being punched by random male attackers in New York City, one former New York City mayoral candidate has been arrested.

The NYPD said Skiboky Stora, 40, of East New York, was charged with assault on Wednesday in connection with an attack made on influencer Halley Kate on Monday.

Stora is a frequent candidate for elected office, having run for mayor, governor and City Council in the past three years. He was set to appear in Manhattan court on Wednesday morning for a previous arrest, according to court dockets.

Kate's video talking about her being punched has amassed over 41 million views and sparked many other women to speak up about the attacks they have faced recently too. With the majority of the attacks seemingly occurring in Manhattan.

Police did not say whether Stora was a suspect in any of the other incidents.

On Tuesday, Kate posted a follow-up clip saying she believed her attack was an isolated incident.

“I am not here 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.

She also added that she believed the stories of women sharing similar experiences were not related, bur rather due to TikTok's algorithm promoting the stories.

“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 made an unsuccessful City Council bid in District 9 last year, losing to Democrat Yosef Salaam.

In 2022, he was a "withdrawn or disqualified" Republican gubernatorial candidate, the site said.

During a mayoral debate for fringe candidates hosted by Gotham Gazette in 2021, Stora, running as a candidate for the Out Lawbreaker Party, spoke about how he was shot whilst living in a homeless shelter in 2005.

“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.”

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