A leader of an Eastern European neo-Nazi group has been sentenced to as many as 15 years in federal prison for soliciting violent attacks against the Jewish community and members of minority groups. One of 22-year-old Michail Chkhikvishvili’s schemes included distributing poisoned candy to children during the holidays.
Known as the “Commander Butcher,” Chkhikvishvili in 2025 pleaded guilty to soliciting hate crimes and distributing instructions to make bombs and ricin. On Wednesday, May 13, he appeared in federal court in Brooklyn, New York. US District Judge Carol Bagley Amon imposed concurrent 180-month sentences on the two counts.
Who is Michail Chkhikvishvili?
According to a press release by the US Department of Justice, “Chkhikvishvili is a leader of Maniac Murder Cult, an international racially motivated violent extremist group that is also known as “Maniacs Murder Cult,” “Maniacs: Cult of Killing,” “MKY,” “MMC,” and “MKU.” Chkhikvishvili recruited others to commit violent acts in furtherance of MKY’s ideologies, including planning and soliciting a mass casualty attack in New York City. He was extradited from Moldova to the Eastern District of New York in May 2025 and pleaded guilty in November.”
“Chkhikvishvili, a leader of the ‘Maniacs Murder Cult,’ repeatedly called for the murder of innocent civilians, including children, and schemed to attack and terrorize Jewish communities and racial minorities in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Chkhikvishvili, for example, tried to recruit a supposed associate to dress up as Santa Claus and pass out poisoned candy to minority children. Today’s sentence takes a monster off our streets and protects our communities at least for a time.”
“As a leader of the white supremacist group ‘Maniac Murder Cult,’ this defendant concocted hate-fueled, mass-casualty plans and inspired others to commit attacks based on his vile rhetoric,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. “This violent extremist’s intentions were clear: harm and kill as many Jews and racial groups as possible. But thanks to the work of our NYPD investigators, along with the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, he is now off our streets and being held accountable for his hateful crimes.”
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Maniac Murder Cult follows Neo-Nazi ideology and promotes violence against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups that it believes are “undesirables.” Chkhikvishvili is known for having distributed a manifesto titled the “Hater’s Handbook” to MKY members and others, which encouraged others to commit acts of mass violence, including school shootings. It also includes Chkhikvishvili’s assertion that he has “murdered for the white race.”
Michail Chkhikvishvili’s crimes
Chkhikvishvili is accused of using Telegram to encourage people to commit violent hate crimes and other violence on behalf of MKY. He even tried to solicit acts of mass violence in New York – such as bombings and arson – from a person he did not know was an undercover FBI employee.
“Chkhikvishvili began planning a mass casualty attack in New York City to take place on New Year’s Eve. The scheme involved having an individual dress up as Santa Claus and hand out candy laced with poison to racial minorities. In January 2024, the scheme evolved and Chkhikvishvili specifically directed the UC to target the Jewish community, Jewish schools, and Jewish children in Brooklyn with poison. Chkhikvishvili sent detailed manuals about creating and mixing lethal poisons and gases, including ricin,” the US Department of Justice said.
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Chkhikvishvili is also accused of inciting several attacks and killings around the world. For example, a 17-year-old student killed one individual and injured another before dying by suicide inside Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee, in January last year, claiming that he was acting on behalf of Maniac Murder Cult. The attacker’s manifesto mentioned Chkhikvishvili.
In August 2024, a person livestreamed himself stabbing five people outside a mosque in Eskisehir, Turkey. He wore a tactical vest bearing Nazi symbols. The attacker’s manifesto “included explicit references to Chkhikvishvili and his violent statements,” according to the US Department of Justice. The attacker also distributed a link to the Hater’s Handbook and other violent propaganda before carrying out the attack.
