Georgian National Extradited from Moldova to Face Charges for Soliciting Hate Crimes and Planning Mass Casualty Attack in New York City

BROOKLYN, NY – Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as “Mishka,” “Michael,” “Commander Butcher,” and “Butcher,” was extradited to the United States from Moldova on May 22, 2025 and will be arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn this morning before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo.  Chkhikvishvili was arrested in Chișinău, Moldova in July 2024 in connection with a four-count indictment returned in the Eastern District of New York charging him with soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence in New York City.  Chkhikvishvili is a leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, also known as “Maniacs Murder Cult,” “Maniacs: Cult of Killing,” “MKY,” “MMC,” and “MKU,” an international racially motivated violent extremist group.  As alleged in the indictment, Chkhikvishvili recruited people to commit violent acts in furtherance of MKY’s ideologies, including planning and soliciting a mass casualty attack in New York City.

United States Attorney General Pamela Bondi; Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; 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 extradition.

“This case is a stark reminder of the kind of terrorism we face today: online networks plotting unspeakable acts of violence against children, families, and the Jewish community in pursuit of a depraved, extremist ideology,” stated Attorney General Bondi.  “The Department of Justice will not tolerate hate-fueled violence, and we will pursue those who threaten innocent lives wherever they may be.”

“As alleged, the defendant, a white supremacist, recruited others to participate in a violent campaign of hatred against racial minorities and the Jewish community and to engage in the mass killing of children and others in these communities using poison, suicide bombs, firearms, arson fires, and vehicle explosions.  Today’s extradition is a giant step forward in holding the defendant accountable for his unspeakably reprehensible and vile efforts to spread fear, chaos, and hate,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Protecting our homeland, city, district, and country from violent extremists will always be one of the top priorities of the Justice Department and my Office.”

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, Department of State, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  Mr. Nocella also thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the government of Moldova for their crucial assistance in securing Chkhikvishvili’s arrest and extradition. 

“Michail Chkhikvishvili allegedly attempted to recruit people to commit mass casualty attacks here in New York City —specifically targeting the Jewish community—in the name of his heinous and depraved ideology,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “This extradition is a clear sign the FBI, our Joint Terrorism Task Force, and law enforcement partners are committed to protecting our nation and city and will bring any individual desiring to enact racially motivated violence to justice—no matter where in the world they are located.”

“This defendant allegedly planned to poison Jewish children and carry out mass murder in New York City,” stated NYPD Commissioner Tisch.  “He incited bombings, arsons, and violence against racial and religious minorities – driven by a hateful Neo-Nazi ideology. These weren’t idle threats. They were detailed plans. This extradition demonstrates the reach and the determination of American law enforcement agencies to track down the most dangerous and depraved of criminals. Thanks to the exceptional work of the NYPD, the FBI, the Justice Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we have sent a clear message: hate has no place in our city and justice will be served.”

Chkhikvishvili’s MKY adheres to a Neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence against racial minorities, the Jewish community, and other groups it deems “undesirables.” MKY members share a common goal of challenging social order and governments via terrorism and violent acts that promote fear and chaos.  MKY has members in the United States and abroad.

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. In the Hater’s Handbook, Chkhikvishvili states that he has “murdered for the white race” and encourages others to commit acts of mass violence and “ethnic cleansing.”  For example, the Hater’s Handbook encourages its readers to commit school shootings and to use children to perpetrate suicide bombings and other mass killings targeting racial minorities.  It also describes methods and strategies for committing mass “terror attacks,” including, for example, using vehicles to target “large outdoor festivals, conventions, celebrations, “parades,” and “pedestrian congested streets.”  The Hater’s Handbook specifically encourages committing attacks within the United States.

In June 2022, Chkhikvishvili traveled to Brooklyn.  As alleged, as early as July 2022, Chkhikvishvili repeatedly encouraged others, primarily via encrypted mobile messaging platforms, to commit violent hate crimes and other acts of violence on behalf of MKY.  This included conspiring to solicit violent acts with the leader of a separate violent extremist Neo-Nazi group.  It also included soliciting acts of mass violence in New York from an individual who claimed to be a prospective MKY recruit, but who, unbeknownst to Chkhikvishvili, was actually an undercover FBI employee (the UC).  

In a September 2023 conversation, the UC messaged Chkhikvishvili asking whether there was an application process to join MKY.  The defendant responded, “we ask people for brutal beating, arson/explosion, or murder vids on camera.”  Chkhikvishvili further stated that “[p]oisoning and arson are best options for murder,” and suggested also considering a larger “mass murder […]” within the United States.  Chkhikvishvili advised the UC that the victims of these acts should be “low race targets.”

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.  Chkhikvishvili provided detailed plans and materials such as bomb-making instructions and guidance on making Molotov cocktails to facilitate carrying out these crimes.  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 an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing 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 drafted step-by-step instructions to carry out the scheme and shared detailed manuals about creating and mixing lethal poisons and gases with the UC.  He also instructed the UC on methods of making ricin-based poisons in powder and liquid form, including by extracting ricin from castor beans.  Chkhikvishvili distributed materials linked to radical Islamist jihadist groups and designated foreign terrorist organizations such as ISIS. 

Chkhikvishvili wanted the planned attack to be a “bigger action than Breivik,” referring to Anders Behring Breivik, a Norwegian Neo‑Nazi who killed 77 people in a bombing and mass shooting in Norway in 2011. Meanwhile, Chkhikvishvili told others of his plan and claimed to have previously committed other hate crimes while living in Brooklyn in 2022.  Chkhikvishvili boasted to others that he was “glad I have murdered,” and that he would “murder more” but “make others murder first.”

Chkhikvishvili’s solicitations of violence have resulted in multiple attacks and killings around the world.  In August 2024, an individual livestreamed himself stabbing approximately five people outside of a mosque in Eskisehir, Turkey, wearing a tactical vest adorned in 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.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, Chkhikvishvili faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for solicitation of violent felonies (including hate crime acts and transporting an explosive with intent to kill or injure), five years’ imprisonment for conspiring to solicit violent felonies, 20 years’ imprisonment for distributing information pertaining to the making and use of explosive devices and ricin poison, and five years’ imprisonment for transmitting threatening communications.

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 Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Paralegal Specialists Wayne Colon and Rebecca Roth.  The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also provided assistance.

The Defendant:

MICHAIL CHKHIKVISHVILI (also known as “Mishka,” “Michael,” “Commander Butcher,” and “Butcher”)
Age:  21
Tbilisi, Georgia

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-286 (CBA)