Georgian neo-Nazi accused of plotting to poison children in US — who is he?
Georgian neo-Nazi
The leader of the extremist neo-Nazi group “Maniac Murder Cult,” Georgian national Mikhail Chkhikvishvili, who was extradited from Moldova to the US in May, has pleaded guilty.
Chkhikvishvili had planned attacks targeting racial minorities and Jewish children in New York and tried to recruit accomplices. He began preparing the operation in November 2023 and intended to carry it out on New Year’s Eve. According to his plan, an accomplice would dress as Santa Claus and hand out poisoned sweets to Jewish children and children from racial minorities. He also encouraged acts of arson and bombings.
The person Chkhikvishvili attempted to recruit turned out to be an FBI agent. His plot was foiled, and he was arrested in Moldova in July 2024, at the age of 21.
After his extradition to the US, Chkhikvishvili was charged with inciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence.
Attacks inspired by Chkhikvishvili’s manifesto
Since around 2021, Chkhikvishvili had been circulating his terrorist manifesto online, titled The Hater’s Handbook, which urged members and supporters of his group to commit acts of violence, including school shootings.
The US Department of Justice stated that Chkhikvishvili’s calls to action had inspired several attacks. One such incident occurred in Tennessee in 2025, when a 17-year-old opened fire at a school. The shooting left one person dead, and the attacker subsequently took his own life. Before the attack, he posted a video on social media claiming he acted on behalf of the Maniac Murder Cult and another group. In the video, he also referenced Chkhikvishvili’s violent manifesto.
A second case, according to the Department of Justice, happened in Turkey in August 2024. A man wearing clothing with Nazi symbols stabbed several people near a mosque in the city of Eskişehir. The attacker’s manifesto also cited Chkhikvishvili’s text.
Chkhikvishvili’s ties to nazi and satanic groups
The Maniac Murder Cult was founded by Ukrainian citizen Yegor Krasnov, nicknamed “Maniac,” born in 2000. Reports indicate Krasnov showed violent tendencies from childhood. At age 11, he tortured a classmate in a school toilet and extorted money. Journalistic investigations by Current Time suggest he suffered from childhood trauma and developed a drug addiction.
According to a US Department of Justice document, the Maniac Murder Cult is a violent extremist group based in Russia and Ukraine, with members also in the United States. Its stated goal is to challenge the global order through terrorism and violence, spreading chaos and fear. Members communicated via an encrypted social network.
The group gained wide attention in 2021, when Russia’s FSB announced the arrest of its supporters in Moscow, Voronezh, Gelendzhik, Yaroslavl, and Tambov. Moscow claimed links between the group and Ukrainian intelligence but provided no evidence. Some arrested individuals were not even identified as group members. Neither Ukrainian nor Russian media had previously mentioned the group.
Before Chkhikvishvili’s arrest, a small publisher associated with the US branch of the neo-Nazi satanic Order of Nine Angles interviewed the Maniac Murder Cult leader, nicknamed “Commander Butcher”—Chkhikvishvili himself. He admitted contacting Krasnov personally in 2021 and participating in the group’s activities since then. He described himself as a “traditional satanist” and claimed to have committed a murder.
Chkhikvishvili also confirmed links between the Maniac Murder Cult and another extremist group, “764,” under FBI investigation. Members of “764” reportedly coerce minors into self-harm and suicide and distribute child pornography.
In the interview, Chkhikvishvili emphasized that the group’s “spiritual values” were inspired by the neo-Nazi satanic Order of Nine Angles.
Statements from US officials
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the “outstanding” investigative work in the case had saved a large number of lives. She praised the efforts of federal agents and added that violent, nihilistic and racist groups of this kind continued to pose a threat to the American public.
Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg stressed that Chkhikvishvili’s actions had nonetheless resulted in several deaths.
FBI Director Kash Patel, for his part, said proudly:
“This case shows once again that if you intend to harm our citizens, wherever you are, the FBI and our partners will find you and bring you to justice.”
Georgian neo-Nazi
