Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The Defendant was a Leader of the “Maniac Murder Cult” and Recruited Others to Bomb and Poison the Jewish Community and Racial Minorities
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as “Mishka,” “Michael,” “Commander Butcher,” and “Butcher,” pleaded guilty to soliciting hate crimes and sending instructions to make bombs and ricin. Chkhikvishvili was a leader of Maniac Murder Cult, an international racially motivated violent extremist group. Chkhikvishvili recruited people to commit violent acts in furtherance of Maniac Murder Cult’s ideologies, including planning and soliciting a mass casualty attack in New York City. In May 2025, Chkhikvishvili was extradited from Moldova to the Eastern District of New York.
United States Attorney General Pamela Bondi; Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the guilty plea.
“The outstanding investigative work in this case saved untold lives and underscores the crucial behind-the-scenes activity of our federal law enforcement agents,” stated Attorney General Bondi. “Violent, nihilistic, racist groups like these are an ongoing threat to the American people – our vigilance will not waver as we protect our citizens.”
“The defendant has admitted his vile actions, including recruiting others to commit acts of violence against Jewish and racial minority children. His incitement of hate crimes resulted in real-world violence,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “This prosecution shows that our Office will protect all communities from evildoers like the defendant from wherever they spew their hate.”
Mr. Nocella praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the New York City Police Department, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies, as well as the Department of State, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and the government of Moldova for their crucial assistance in securing Chkhikvishvili’s arrest and extradition.
“Chkhikvishvili’s monstrous plots and propaganda calling for racially motivated violence against civilians, including children, posed a grave threat to public safety,” stated Assistant Attorney General Eisenberg. “Unfortunately, his efforts on behalf of the aptly named Maniac Murder Cult in fact caused mayhem and death. We condemn his despicable ideology and will use every tool at our disposal to bring such predators to justice.”
“Michail Chkhikvishvili actively encouraged his recruits of his Maniac Murder Cult to incite mass violence targeted at Jewish individuals and other minorities, including orders to bomb Jewish facilities and poison Jewish children. His vile propensity for discriminatory violence sparked actual attacks and casualties not only in this country, but across the globe. The FBI and its Joint Terrorism Task Force will not tolerate anyone to solicit unnecessary death and harm out of prejudice and hate,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.
“Michail Chkhikvishvili plotted extensive terrorist attacks targeting Jewish New Yorkers, including horrific plans to poison children. This wasn’t just violent behavior — it was extreme antisemitism rooted in Neo-Nazi ideology that put communities here and around the world at risk,” stated NYPD Commissioner Tisch. “All New Yorkers deserve a city where they can live free from fear, regardless of their religious identity, and this guilty plea makes one thing clear: The NYPD will never tolerate hate or bias-fueled violence in any form. I am grateful to the NYPD investigators, the FBI, the Justice Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for bringing Michail Chkhikvishvili to justice.”
In June 2022, Chkhikvishvili traveled to Brooklyn, New York. Beginning as early as July 2022, Chkhikvishvili repeatedly encouraged others, primarily via the encrypted messaging application Telegram, to commit violent hate crimes and other acts of violence on behalf of Maniac Murder Cult. This included soliciting acts of mass violence in New York from an individual who, unbeknownst to Chkhikvishvili, was an undercover FBI employee (the UC).
Since approximately September 2021, Chkhikvishvili has distributed a manifesto titled the “Hater’s Handbook” to Maniac Murder Cult members and others. The Hater’s Handbook encourages people to commit acts of mass violence. For example, the Hater’s Handbook encourages its readers to commit school shootings.
Beginning in approximately November 2023, Chkhikvishvili solicited the UC to commit violent crimes, such as bombings and arsons, for the purpose of harming racial minorities, Jewish individuals and others. In November 2023, Chkhikvishvili began planning a mass casualty attack in New York City to take place on New Year’s Eve. The scheme involved having an individual dress up as Santa Claus and hand out candy laced with poison to racial minorities. In January, the scheme evolved and Chkhikvishvili specifically directed the UC to target the Jewish community, Jewish schools, and Jewish children in Brooklyn with poison. Chkhikvishvili sent detailed manuals about creating and mixing lethal poisons and gases, including ricin.
Chkhikvishvili’s encouragement of violence have resulted in multiple attacks and killings around the world:
- 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 and at least one other group. The attacker’s manifesto explicitly mentioned Chkhikvishvili.
- In August 2024, an individual livestreamed himself stabbing approximately five people outside of a mosque in Eskisehir, Turkey, wearing a tactical vest bearing Nazi symbols. A manifesto attributed to the attacker included explicit references to Chkhikvishvili and to violent statements made by him. Before the attack, the attacker also distributed a link to the Hater’s Handbook, authored by Chkhikvishvili, and other violent propaganda.
Chkhikvishvili faces a maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Ellen H. Sise and Andrew D. Reich are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Paralegal Specialists Wayne Colon and Rebecca Roth.
The Defendant:
MICHAIL CHKHIKVISHVILI (also known as “Mishka,” “Michael,” “Commander Butcher” and “Butcher”)
Age: 22
Tbilisi, Georgia
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-286 (CBA)