The leader of the Maniac Murder Cult pleaded guilty in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday after plotting violent attacks against Jewish individuals and other racial minorities, including a plot to poison children with candy.
In a Monday press release, the Justice Department announced that Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 22-year-old Georgian national, known as “Commander Butcher,” pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courthouse to “soliciting hate crimes and sending instructions to make bombs and ricin.”
The Justice Department said the 22-year-old is the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, which is an “international racially motivated violent extremist group.” According to the press release, Chkhikvishvili recruited individuals to further the ideologies of the Maniac Murder Cult through violent acts, including the planning and solicitation of a “mass casualty attack” in New York City.
The Justice Department explained that Chkhikvishvili traveled to Brooklyn in June of 2022 and started to repeatedly encourage people through Telegram messages to “commit violent hate crimes and other acts of violence on behalf of Maniac Murder Cult” as early as July of 2022. The department confirmed that one of the individuals messaged by “Commander Butcher” was an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employee, described as “the UC.”
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Chkhikvishvili has also been accused of distributing the “Hater’s Handbook” manifesto to members of the Maniac Murder Cult. According to the Justice Department, the manifesto encourages people to “commit acts of mass violence,” including school shootings.
The Justice Department noted that Chkhivishvili tried to direct the undercover FBI employee to commit violent crimes, including arsons and bombings, in an effort to harm Jewish individuals and other racial minorities. The department said the 22-year-old started to plot a mass casualty attack in New York City in November of 2023, which was supposed 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,” the Justice Department stated. “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.”
The Justice Department added that Chkhikvishvili also sent the undercover FBI employee manuals to create and mix lethal gases and poisons, including ricin.
“With today’s guilty plea, this defendant admits to a horrific plot targeting Jewish people and racial minorities and even planned to poison children with candy around the holidays,” FBI Director Kash Patel stated in Monday’s press release.
The Justice Department confirmed that Chkhikvishvili currently faces up to 40 years in prison following Monday’s guilty plea.