May 23 (UPI) — The alleged leader of an Eastern European neo-Nazi White supremacist group has been extradited from Moldova to the United States, the Department of Justice said Friday.
Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 21-year-old Georgian national, is accused of inspiring “multiple senseless killings,” including planning a New Year Eve’s attack in New York City, the Department of Justice said in a news release.
Chkhikvishvili was arrested in Moldova in July 2024, and was arraigned Friday in U.S. federal court in Brooklyn.
The defendant, who goes by the moniker “Commander Butcher,” was indicted on four charges of soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence in New York City. The 10-page indictment was filed July 15, 2024, in the Eastern District of New York.
Chkhikvishvili is a leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, also known as “Maniacs Murder Cult,” “Maniacs: Cult of Killing,” “MKY,” “MMC” and “MKU,” an international racially-motivated, violent extremist group, according to the DOJ.
The indictment alleges Chkhikvishvili recruited people to commit violent acts in MKY’s ideologies, including planning and soliciting a mass casualty attack in New York City.
“This case is a stark reminder of the kind of terrorism we face today: online networks plotting unspeakable acts of violence against children, families and the Jewish community in pursuit of a depraved, extremist ideology,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate hate-fueled violence, and we will pursue those who threaten innocent lives wherever they may be.”
Prosecutors said that since approximately September 2021, Chkhikvishvili distributed a manifesto titled the “Hater’s Handbook” to MKY members and others that encourages people to commit mass violence.
Chkhikvishvili wrote that he has “murdered for the white race” and encourages others to commit acts of mass violence and “ethnic cleansing.” The Hater’s Handbook encourages readers to commit school shootings and to use children to perpetrate suicide bombings and other mass killings targeting racial minorities.
Also described are ways to commit mass “terror attacks,” including using vehicles to target large outdoor festivals, conventions, celebrations, parades, and “pedestrian congested streets,” especially within the United States.
In June 2022, Chkhikvishvili traveled to Brooklyn where he encouraged others, primarily via encrypted mobile messaging platforms, to commit violent hate crimes and other violence on behalf of MKY, according to the indictment.
In September 2023, an undercover FBI informant, UC, messaged Chkhikvishvili asking whether there was an application process to join MKY. He responded that “we ask people for brutal beating, arson/explosion, or murder vids on camera.” Also, “poisoning and arson are best options for murder,” and suggested a larger “mass murder” within the United States.
To the FBI informant, Chkhikvishvili provided detailed plans and materials, including bomb-making instructions and guidance on making Molotov cocktails to facilitate carrying out these crimes.
In November 2023, prosecutors say Chkhikvishvili began planning a mass casualty attack in New York City on New Year’s Eve. Someone would dress up as Santa Claus, and hand out candy laced with poison to racial minorities.
In January, Chkhikvishvili specifically directed UC to target the Jewish community, Jewish schools and Jewish children in Brooklyn with poison.
Chkhikvishvili allegedly told others of his plan and claimed to have previously committed other hate crimes in Brooklyn in 2022. Chkhikvishvili said he was “glad I have murdered,” and that he would “murder more” but “make others murder first.”
In August 2024, someone livestreamed himself stabbing approximately five people outside a mosque in Eskisehir, Turkey, wearing a tactical vest adorned in Nazi symbols. Before the attack, the person also distributed a link to the Hater’s Handbook.
In January, a 17-year-old student, claiming he was taking action on behalf of MKY and at least one other group, killed one individual and injured another before committing suicide inside Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn. Chkhikvishvili’s name was mentioned.
If convicted, Chkhikvishvili faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for solicitation of violent felonies, including hate crime acts and transporting an explosive with intent to kill or injure, as well as five years for conspiring to solicit violent felonies, 20 years imprisonment for distributing information to the making and use of explosive devices and ricin poison, and five years for transmitting threatening communications.
“As alleged, the defendant, a white supremacist, recruited others to participate in a violent campaign of hatred against racial minorities and the Jewish community and to engage in the mass killing of children and others in these communities using poison, suicide bombs, firearms, arson fires, and vehicle explosions,” United States Attorney Nocella said. “Today’s extradition is a giant step forward in holding the defendant accountable for his unspeakably reprehensible and vile efforts to spread fear, chaos and hate. Protecting our homeland, city, district, and country from violent extremists will always be one of the top priorities of the Justice Department and my office.”
Involved in the investigation were the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, New York City Police Department, and more than 50 other federal, state and local agencies, including the Department of State and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“This defendant allegedly planned to poison Jewish children and carry out mass murder in New York City,” NYPD Commissioner Tisch said. “He incited bombings, arsons and violence against racial and religious minorities — driven by a hateful Neo-Nazi ideology. These weren’t idle threats. They were detailed plans. This extradition demonstrates the reach and the determination of American law enforcement agencies to track down the most dangerous and depraved of criminals.”
