Neo-Nazi Leader Sentenced to 15 Years for Hate Plots

A federal judge in Brooklyn sentenced Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 22-year-old Georgian national and leader of the neo-Nazi Maniac Murder Cult, to 15 years in prison on Wednesday for soliciting hate crimes and distributing instructions on making bombs and the poison ricin. The extremist, known online as Commander Butcher, had plotted attacks targeting Jews and racial minorities in New York City, including a scheme to dress as Santa Claus and distribute poisoned candy to children.

Chkhikvishvili pleaded guilty in November after his extradition from Moldova, where authorities arrested him in 2024 on a U.S. warrant. Prosecutors said he used Telegram channels since 2021 to recruit followers and share the "Haters Handbook," a manifesto promoting mass violence such as school shootings. In 2022, he traveled to Brooklyn and began encouraging acts of violence there. By November 2023, he solicited an undercover FBI employee, believed to be a recruit, to carry out bombings and arsons against racial minorities and Jewish individuals.

The plot escalated in early 2024, when Chkhikvishvili directed the undercover agent to target Jewish communities, schools, and children in Brooklyn with ricin and...