Neo-Nazi cult leader Commander Butcher admits monstrous plot to give NYC kids poisoned candy
A neo-Nazi cult leader has pleaded guilty to plotting a New Year’s Eve attack in New York City using a terrorist dressed as Santa Claus dishing out poisoned candy to children.Michail Chkhikvishvili, 22, known as “Commander Butcher,” admitted soliciting hate crimes and providing instructions on how to make bombs and the poison ricin as part of “monstrous plots and propaganda” leading his international Maniac Murder Cult, according to the feds.The Georgian neo-Nazi — who also inspired mass shooters with his “Hater’s Handbook” — pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court on Monday after being hauled back to the US from Moldova to face justice.He “admitted his vile actions, including recruiting others to commit acts of violence against Jewish and racial minority children,” said US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr.Chkhikvishvili traveled to New York in June 2022 and encouraged others to perform hate crimes on behalf of his Maniac Murder Cult, communicating largely via the messaging app Telegram, prosecutors said.One such twisted scheme involved someone dressing as Santa Claus to hand out poisoned candy to minority children on New Year’s Eve.He was caught when he solicited an individual to carry out bombings and arson attacks targeting Jews and other racial minorities, not realizing that he was speaking to an undercover FBI agent.Chkhikvishvili had instructed the undercover agent to dress as Santa and, after handing out candy, catch a taxi to a pre-determined location to burn the Santa costume and destroy burner phones.Chkhikvishvili also solicited the undercover agent to commit bombings and arson.When that plan failed, Chkhikvishvili plotted a similar scheme targeting Jewish children and schools in Brooklyn in January 2024, according to the FBI.He sent detailed manuals about creating and mixing lethal poisons and gases, including ricin, according to police.Since September 2021, Chkhikvishvili had been distributing copies of his “Hater’s Handbook,...