[Martin St-Amant (S23678), CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]

‘Santa Claus’ Terrorist Captured By FBI

Federal prosecutors have unsealed a disturbing indictment against 20-year-old Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili, a self-styled neo-Nazi known online as “Commander Butcher,” charging him with orchestrating a series of racially motivated terror plots—including a plan to poison Black and Jewish children in Brooklyn on New Year’s Eve using a Santa Claus disguise.

Chkhikvishvili, believed to be the leader of a violent extremist group calling itself the Maniac Murder Cult (MKY), was indicted by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn on charges of soliciting hate crimes, conspiring to commit acts of terrorism, and distributing bomb-making manuals, according to the official statement from the Department of Justice. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 50 years in federal prison.

According to prosecutors, Chkhikvishvili had been under investigation since at least 2021, when he began circulating an online terrorist manual titled the “Hater’s Handbook.” The guide, aimed at radicalizing and instructing MKY recruits, promotes mass casualty attacks on racial minorities, Jews, and other so-called “undesirables.” Methods included school shootings, vehicle rammings, suicide bombings, and chemical poisoning—tactics pulled from both neo-Nazi and jihadist playbooks.

Chkhikvishvili’s ultimate goal, investigators say, was societal collapse. The indictment alleges that he directed recruits to accelerate violence through chaos and terror, closely mirroring the accelerationist ideology of prior white supremacist killers like Anders Breivik and the perpetrators of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings.

Federal agents arrested Chkhikvishvili following the issuance of an Interpol “Wanted Person Diffusion” tied to a sealed complaint. Though an international figure in far-right online circles, Chkhikvishvili had previously slipped into the United States in 2022, citing his grandmother’s Brooklyn address to border authorities.

Once in the U.S., he allegedly used encrypted platforms to groom potential attackers—including one undercover FBI employee posing as an aspiring MKY member. In chat logs obtained by prosecutors, Chkhikvishvili encouraged the agent to submit “proof-of-loyalty” videos involving beatings, arson, or murder. He emphasized that the group favored “low race targets” and described poisoning and firebombing as particularly effective methods.

By late 2023, the plot had taken a grotesque turn. Prosecutors say Chkhikvishvili laid out a scheme in which an MKY member dressed as Santa Claus would distribute poisoned candy to minority and Jewish schoolchildren in Brooklyn. He shared instructions for producing lethal substances, including ricin derived from castor beans, and referenced terrorist manuals from groups such as ISIS. The indictment alleges that he hoped the attack would “outdo” the Norway massacre of 2011.

Chkhikvishvili also bragged about committing previous hate crimes in New York, telling the FBI informant, “I’m glad I have murdered,” and expressing a desire to train others to kill. Prosecutors have charged him with soliciting violent felonies, conspiracy, dissemination of explosive materials, and issuing terror threats.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section and Civil Rights Division. FBI agents led the investigation, which officials described as a critical intervention to prevent mass carnage.

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