Brooklyn’s Jewish community targeted in alleged poison plot by Neo-Nazi leader

July 17, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

Brooklyn Federal Courthouse where Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili was indicted on charges of soliciting hate crimes and planning a mass casualty attack. Eagle file photo by Robert Abruzzese

Share this:

A federal grand jury in Brooklyn indicted Michail Chkhikvishvili, a Georgian national, Tuesday on charges of soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence in New York City. Chkhikvishvili, known by various aliases including “Commander Butcher,” was arrested in Chișinău, Moldova, on July 6, following an Interpol Wanted Person Diffusion.

Chkhikvishvili is accused of leading the Maniac Murder Cult (MKY), a Neo-Nazi extremist group, and recruiting others to commit violent acts targeting racial minorities and the Jewish community. His alleged plans included a New Year’s Eve attack involving a Santa Claus figure distributing poisoned candy to minority and Jewish children in Brooklyn.

Breon Peace, United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the charges alongside Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Christie Curtis, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office.

“As alleged, the defendant sought to recruit others to commit violent attacks and killings in furtherance of his Neo-Nazi ideologies,” U.S. Attorney Peace said. “His goal was to spread hatred, fear and destruction by encouraging bombings, arson and even poisoning children, to harm racial minorities, the Jewish community and homeless individuals.”

Chkhikvishvili allegedly distributed a manifesto titled the “Hater’s Handbook” to MKY members that encouraged mass violence and detailed methods for committing terrorist attacks. He reportedly used encrypted messaging platforms to solicit violent acts, including bombings and arson, from an undercover FBI employee posing as a recruit.

In one conversation, Chkhikvishvili supposedly suggested “poisoning and arson are best options for murder” and advised targeting “low race” individuals. He also planned a terror attack in New York City that involved poisoning candy on New Year’s Eve and provided detailed instructions and materials for creating these lethal concoctions.

Chkhikvishvili allegedly compared his intended attack to the 2011 massacre by Norwegian Neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik. He also boasted of committing other hate crimes in Brooklyn in 2022.

If convicted, Chkhikvishvili faces up to 20 years in prison for solicitation of violent felonies, five years for conspiring to solicit violent felonies, 20 years for distributing information on making explosive devices and five years for transmitting threatening communications.