Additional Coverage:
- Neo-Nazi leader gets 15 years for recruiting violent attacks, including a Santa poison plot (apnews.com)
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – A federal court has sentenced Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 22-year-old Georgian national and self-styled leader of a neo-Nazi extremist group, to 15 years in prison for inciting violent attacks against Jewish and minority communities. Known as “Commander Butcher,” Chkhikvishvili pleaded guilty last November to soliciting hate crimes and distributing bomb-making and ricin-related instructions.
In a letter to the judge, Chkhikvishvili expressed remorse, stating, “I acknowledge that my actions have brought harm by spreading hatred and violence and I’m truly sorry for that.” His defense attorney had requested a reduced sentence of five years, highlighting the defendant’s history of mental health issues and exposure to extremist content on social media during his adolescence. The lawyer also cited the harsh conditions Chkhikvishvili endured during nearly a year of detention in Moldova following his 2024 arrest on an international warrant.
Prosecutors identified Chkhikvishvili as the head of the Maniac Murder Cult, an international neo-Nazi group advocating violence aimed at provoking racial and religious conflict. Their hate-fueled directives, disseminated via Telegram and detailed in a publication known as the “Hater’s Handbook,” have been linked to multiple real-world attacks, including a fatal school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, last year.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg condemned Chkhikvishvili’s actions, emphasizing the defendant’s calls for murder of innocent civilians and plans to terrorize Jewish and minority communities. One particularly chilling plot involved recruiting an associate to disguise as Santa Claus and distribute poisoned candy to minority children.
Prosecutors revealed that from 2021 onward, Chkhikvishvili circulated the “Hater’s Handbook” among followers. He admitted regret for authoring the manual, writing, “I’m very ashamed authoring Haters Handbook, hoping one day it will disappear, I wish I never wrote it.”
The indictment further detailed Chkhikvishvili’s efforts in Brooklyn during 2022 and 2023 to incite hate crimes, including soliciting an undercover FBI agent to carry out bombings and arsons targeting racial minorities and Jewish individuals. By 2024, he had directed the agent to target Jewish communities and schools in Brooklyn with poison. Authorities confirmed that Chkhikvishvili provided detailed instructions on producing deadly poisons and gases such as ricin.
The sentence brings to light the ongoing threats posed by international extremist groups and underscores federal authorities’ commitment to combating hate-fueled violence.