New York — The leader of an Eastern European neo-Nazi group has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for trying to recruit others to commit violent attacks against Jews and ethnic minorities, including a plot that would have involved dressing up as Santa Claus to distribute poisoned candy to children.
Mikheil Chakhkivishvili, a 22-year-old from Georgia nicknamed “Commander Butcher,” was sentenced by a federal judge in Brooklyn on Wednesday. he He pleaded guilty in November To incite hate crimes and distribute information about bomb making and ricin.
“I acknowledge that my actions caused harm by spreading hatred and violence, and I am truly sorry for that,” Chikvishvili wrote in a letter to the judge last month.
His lawyer, Zachary Taylor, asked for a five-year prison sentence, citing Chikvishvili’s mental health struggles since he was a teenager who “fell under the influence of violent extremist content” on social media, but has since reformed. Taylor also mentioned the harsh conditions Chakhkivishvili experienced in Moldova, where he was detained for nearly a year. He was arrested in 2024 Based on an international memorandum, according to his letter addressed to the judge.
Prosecutors described Chakhkivishvili as the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, an international extremist group adhering to neo-Nazi ideology that promotes violence with the aim of provoking a racial and religious war.
They said the group’s violent temptations – promoted via Telegram channels and described in a “hate guide” – appeared to have inspired several real-life killings, including School shooting in Nashville, TennesseeLast year that left a 16-year-old student dead.
John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement that Chekhkishvili “repeatedly called for the killing of innocent civilians, including children, and conspired to attack and terrorize Jewish and ethnic minority communities in the United States.” “For example, Chekhikvishvili attempted to recruit a supposed accomplice to dress up as Santa Claus and distribute poisoned candy to minority children.”
Since 2021, prosecutors said, Chekhikvishvili distributed “hate evidence” to members and others.
“I am extremely ashamed to have written the book ‘The Haters’ Guide’, I hope it will disappear one day, and I hope I never write it,” Chikvishvili wrote to the judge.
Prosecutors said Chikvishvili traveled to Brooklyn in 2022 and repeatedly began encouraging others to commit hate crimes and other violent acts. They said that in 2023, an undercover FBI employee was asked to commit bombings and arson “for the purpose of harming racial minorities, Jewish individuals, and others.”
In 2024, the undercover operative was directed “to target the Jewish community, Jewish schools, and Jewish children in Brooklyn with poison,” prosecutors said in a statement.
“Chchikivishvili sent detailed evidence about the manufacture and mixing of deadly poisons and gases, including ricin.”