A 21-year-old Georgian national accused of soliciting hate crimes and mass violence in New York City was extradited to the United States from Moldova on May 22 to face federal charges in Brooklyn.
Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as “Commander Butcher,” was arrested in Chișinău in July 2024. He faces a four-count indictment for allegedly soliciting others to carry out violent attacks targeting Jewish community and racial minorities and for providing instructions for such acts, including a planned scheme to distribute poisoned candy to children on New Year’s Eve.
According to the U.S.. Department of Justice press release, Chkhikvishvili is a leader of the white supremacist Maniac Murder Cult, an international, racially-motivated, violent extremist group. He 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.
Chkhikvishvili’s solicitations of violence have resulted in multiple attacks and killings around the world, the U.S. Department of Justice press release said.