Georgian National Pleads Guilty in U.S. Hate-Crime and Bomb Plot Case
The Georgian national accused of soliciting hate crimes and planning mass violence in New York City has pleaded guilty and now faces up to 40 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said on November 17.
Michail Chkhikvishvili, 21, also known as “Commander Butcher,” admitted to soliciting hate crimes and sending instructions on how to make bombs and ricin. He led the Maniac Murder Cult, an international neo-Nazi extremist group that advocates violence against Jewish people, racial minorities, and other targeted groups. He was arrested in Chișinău, Moldova, in July 2024 and extradited to New York.
Prosecutors said Chkhikvishvili recruited others to carry out arson attacks and bombings and planned a New Year’s Eve attack in which a person dressed as Santa Claus would hand out poisoned candy to racial minorities and Jewish children in Brooklyn.
“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 said.
Also Read:
- 17/07/2024 – Georgian National Charged with Soliciting Hate Crimes and a Mass Casualty Attack in NYC
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