Man accused of punching TikToker influencer in the face in broad daylight appears handcuffed in NYC court after Halley Kate’s video showing horrific bruise on her forehead went viral

The man accused of punching a TikTok influencer in the face in broad daylight has appeared in court in New York City after footage of her injuries went viral.

Skiboky Stora, 40, was charged in court Thursday in connection with the apparently random attack on Halley Kate Mcgookin.

New York police said Stora was arrested Wednesday and charged with assault, making it his third arrest in the past six months.

Stora has often run for mayor and governor Daily news from New York interrupted prosecutors during the proceedings.

The newspaper reported that he told Judge Pamela Goldsmith: “Now they bring me here and say they have video footage of me hitting someone I’ve never met and never seen.”

Stora continued, “That denies me due process, and the same officer is a white supremacist member who arrested me.”

The outlet reported that Assistant District Attorney Liliana Shelanski shared statements Stora allegedly made to police after his arrest.

Shelanski allegedly told police, “She’s a ghost, who’s my accuser?” You’re the one who did it, I’m looking at your hand.’

Stora was arrested in connection with the attack by the SWAT team while appearing in court for other outstanding matters.

Stora appears to have several TikTok accounts documenting his aggression towards strangers, the majority of whom are women.

Mcgookin just shared her traumatic experience with her 1.2 million TikTok followers moments after he was punched in the face.

“Y’all, I was literally walking, and a guy came up to me and punched me in the face,” Kate said in the video. video as tears streamed down her face.

“Oh my god, it was so bad, I can’t even talk.”

The influencer also added that after the attack, she lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

Kate posted a follow-up video from the safety of her apartment, revealing what she described as a “devil’s horn”-like bump on the left side of her forehead.

“Yes, I’m going to the hospital, oh my god, it looks like a devil’s horn,” she said, having just noticed the bump starting to form during filming.

In another video, Kate thanked her followers for their expressions of concern, and confirmed to a doctor that she would be fine if not for symptoms such as vomiting or vision loss.

“I’m doing well, I think I will recover soon,” she said, saying she was suffering from severe migraines.

The content creator said the man hit her while she was looking at her phone to answer an email.

“I literally blacked out, so I can’t really remember. But I think he was really angry because I was sitting with my head down – he was walking a dog, so he took it upon himself to attack me and let me know that I needed to be aware of my environment,” Kate said.

After regaining consciousness, Kate said she woke up to the man yelling at her.

As Kate’s video gained popularity, other stories from users claiming they were punched in the face by a male stranger also sparked online outrage about public safety in New York.

Since the shocking video was uploaded, a slew of others 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 been viewed 7.4 million times.

Toninato said she was looking at her phone and texting when a man came out of nowhere and punched her in the face.

She warned her followers not to walk around on their phones and to be “super aware” of their surroundings.

Another person shared a video last week, on March 17, telling users that she had also been randomly beaten in New York City.

“I literally got hit by a guy on the sidewalk,” Olivia Brand said in her video, which has been viewed nearly four million times.

“He says ‘sorry’ and then hits me in the head,” she said.

Yet 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 hit in New York wasn’t on my agenda today. That happened to me around 1 p.m. and I had to work right afterward.”

On Tuesday morning, a user on TikTok uploaded a video saying she had also been hit in the head.

The user, @malous228, revealed that she was hit in Times Square while walking out of the subway station on Saturday, March 23.

She said a random man came up to her and hit her in the head. The TikTokker said she is still in pain 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 her social media stating that Victim Assistance would cover her medical bills.

She added that the detective working her case saw the man walking through the streets and arrested him. It is unclear whether that man is Stora.

On Tuesday, user jesslovesblueberrybagels shared a video saying she had also been attacked while holding her Kindle.

She said: ‘Just over a month ago I was attacked. The man waved at me, hit my kindling, spat at me and shouted at me.

“I made a video and it wasn’t perceived in the best way. People messaged me and called me about almost every blemish in the book.

‘Someone commented that the man should have sexually assaulted me. People can really be that horrible.

“I made a post saying that people don’t believe black women, and people just said it was some kind of race card, you’re being dramatic.

“The way all these other women who have been attacked, the way their videos have been perceived compared to my comment section for the exact same situation, is literally insane.

“It’s just very frustrating that the world never believes or protects black women.”

Another woman shared a video of herself explaining a similar situation on Thursday, saying “the copycats have started.”

She said: ‘A guy walks up to me and punches me, and as he punches me he says, ‘Get off your phone.’

“So I caught him with my umbrella and busted his lip. He got really angry and said, “I was just joking with you, you f***ing b**ch.”

“The copycats started, they arrested the guy who hit the white girls, but the copycats started in the city.”