WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A leader of the Eastern European neo-Nazi group Maniac Murder Cult, Michail Chkhikvishvili, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for soliciting hate crimes and planning mass casualty attack in New York City.
Chkhikvishvili, a Georgian national also known as 'Commander Butcher,' was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon in federal court in Brooklyn Wednesday.
Maniac Murder Cult is 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 as part of a campaign of the group'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 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 tried to recruit a supposed associate to dress up as Santa Claus and pass out poisoned candy to Jewish children.
His plans to poison children with candy around the holidays was stopped due to the intervention of the FBI and its law enforcement partners.
Maniac Murder Cult adheres to Neo-Nazi ideology and promotes violence against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems 'undesirables.' Since approximately September 2021, Chkhikvishvili has distributed a manifesto titled the 'Hater's Handbook' to MKY members and others. The Hater's Handbook encourages people to commit acts of mass violence, including school shootings, and includes Chkhikvishvili's assertion that he has 'murdered for the white race.'
Chkhikvishvili has incited multiple attacks and killings around the world, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
In January 2025, a 17-year-old student killed one individual and injured another before dying by suicide inside Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee. The attacker livestreamed part of the attack. Prior to the attack, in an audio recording posted online and attributed to him, the attacker claimed he was taking action on behalf of Maniac Murder Cult. The attacker's manifesto explicitly mentioned Chkhikvishvili.
In August 2024, an individual livestreamed himself stabbing five people outside a mosque in Eskisehir, Turkey, while wearing a tactical vest bearing Nazi symbols. A manifesto attributed to the attacker included references to Chkhikvishvili and his violent statements. Before the attack, the attacker also distributed a link to the Hater's Handbook and other violent propaganda.
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