NEW YORK — The leader of an extremist neo-Nazi group from Eastern Europe has been accused of orchestrating a plot to have an associate dress up as Santa Claus and distribute poisoned candy to Jewish children in New York City to spread terror, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Mikhail Chkhikvishvili, a 21-year-old man from the Republic of Georgia, was charged with four counts, including incitement to hate crimes and mass violence, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. It was not known whether he has an attorney.
Chkhikvishvili, who goes by several nicknames including Commandant Slager, is alleged to be the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, which prosecutors said is an international extremist group that espouses a “neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence and violent acts against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems ‘undesirable.'”
The Maniac Murder Cult’s goal is to disrupt civil order and governments through terrorism and violent acts that promote fear and chaos, according to the announcement by Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York and Executive Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch.
Chkhikvishvili was arrested after he tried to recruit an undercover agent to join his group and commit violent crimes such as bombings and arson, court documents show.
In November 2023, Chkhikvishvili began planning a “mass-casualty event” in New York City on New Year’s Eve, prosecutors said.
“The scheme involved someone dressing up as Santa Claus and distributing poisoned candy to racial minorities and children at Jewish schools in Brooklyn,” the Justice Department statement said.
He “created step-by-step instructions to carry out the plan” and shared with the undercover agent “detailed manuals on how to make and mix deadly toxins and gases,” the affidavit said.
According to prosecutors, Chkhikvishvili has been distributing a manifesto titled “Handbook for Haters” since September 2021, in which he claims he “killed for the white race” and encourages others to do the same.
“For example, and among other things, the manual encourages its readers to commit school shootings and use children to commit suicide bombings and other mass killings targeting racial minorities,” the Justice Department statement said. “The document describes methods and strategies for carrying out mass ‘terrorist attacks,’ including, for example, using vehicles to attack ‘large outdoor festivals, conventions, celebrations, and parades’ and ‘streets full of pedestrians.’ It specifically encourages attacks inside the United States.”
Chkhikvishvili traveled to New York City at least twice in 2022 and stayed with his paternal grandmother in Brooklyn, officials said.
If found guilty, Chkhikvishvili faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for incitement to commit violent crimes, five years for conspiracy to commit violent crimes, 20 years for disseminating information about the making and use of explosives, and five years for sending threatening messages.