The 20-year-old man dubbed “Butcher” wanted to “spread hatred, fear and destruction by encouraging bombings, arson and even poisoning children,” says the Department of Justice.
A man from the Republic of Georgia has been charged with plotting a New Year’s Eve attack in New York City, which allegedly included having people dress as Santa Claus to hand out poisoned candy to children.
20-year-old Michail Chkhikvishvili was indicted by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn this week with soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
Per the DOJ, Chkhikvishvili is also known as “Commander Butcher” and “Butcher” and is the alleged leader of the “Maniac Murder Cult” or “MKY” — which authorities say is “an international racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist group.” According to a federal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York, MKY “adheres to a Neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence and violent acts against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems ‘undesirables.'”
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Chkhikvishvili was arrested in Chișinău, Moldova on July 6, 2024, after reportedly speaking with an undercover officer he believed was a prospective recruit about a planned “mass casualty attack” in NYC. He is still behind bars in Moldova, awaiting extradition.
“As alleged, the defendant sought to recruit others to commit violent attacks and killings in furtherance of his Neo-Nazi ideologies,” said United States Attorney Peace. “His goal was to spread hatred, fear and destruction by encouraging bombings, arson and even poisoning children, for the purpose of harming racial minorities, the Jewish community and homeless individuals.”
According to the DOJ, Chkhikvishvili is responsible for distributing a manifesto titled the “Hater’s Handbook,” purportedly authored by “Commander Butcher and the [Maniac Murder Cult] Collective.” In it, acts of “ethnic cleansing” are allegedly encouraged, as are school shootings, suicide bombings and other “mass killing targeting racial minorities” within the United States.
Chkhikvishvili eventually began speaking with an undercover FBI employee about recruitment, with the suspect telling the agent the group asks “people for brutal beating, arson/explosion or murder vids on camera” as part of the application process, per the DOJ release.
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He then allegedly began planning “a mass casualty attack” to take place in NYC on New Year’s Eve.
“The scheme involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities,” said authorities. “The scheme also involved providing candy laced with poison to children at Jewish schools in Brooklyn.”
A screen shot of his alleged instructions for the Santa plan included in the federal complaint read: “Use white Santa gloves and bag full of candies. Big beard, makeup, glasses, shave unnecessary body hair and put fake white eyebrows.”
The DOJ says the suspect also shared “step-by-step” instructions with the undercover agent and said the planned attack would be “bigger action than Breivik,” referring to a bombing and mass shooting which claimed the lives of 77 people in Norway in 2011.
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 — 5 years for conspiring to solicit violent felonies, 20 years for distributing information pertaining to the making and use of explosive devices, and 5 years for transmitting threatening communications.
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