Neo-Nazi 'Maniac Cult Leader' busted in terror plot to dress as Santa Claus and hand poisoned candy to Jewish kids in NYC

The leader of an Eastern European neo-Nazi group has been charged successful a crippled to person a follower dress up arsenic Santa Claus and manus retired poisoned candy to Jewish kids successful New York City.

Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 21 twelvemonth aged from nan Republic of Georgia, was arrested pursuant to an Interpol Wanted Person Diffusion successful Moldova connected July 6.

On Tuesday, a national grad assemblage successful Brooklyn indicted him connected 4 counts including soliciting dislike crimes and acts of wide unit pursuing an FBI-New York Joint Terrorism Task Force Probe.

'As alleged, nan suspect sought to enlistee others to perpetrate convulsive attacks and killings successful furtherance of his Neo-Nazi ideologies,' said US Attorney Breon Peace. 

'His extremity was to dispersed hatred, fearfulness and demolition by encouraging bombings, arson and moreover poisoning children, for nan intent of harming group minorities, nan Jewish organization and homeless individuals.'

Prosecutors say Chkhikvishvili - who went by nan nicknames Michael, Mishka, Commander Butcher and Butcher - leads nan Maniacs Murder Cult, an world extremist group based successful Russia and Ukraine.

The group adheres to a 'neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes unit and convulsive acts against group minorities, nan Jewish organization and different groups it deems "undesirables,"' federal prosecutors claim.

Its extremity is to upset societal bid and governments via coercion and convulsive acts that beforehand fearfulness and chaos.

The group has dispersed into nan United States, and Chkhikvishvili was arrested aft he unwittingly tied to enlistee an undercover FBI agent.

The undercover supplier asked nan cult leader successful September 2024 whether location was an exertion process to subordinate nan group, a criminal title says.

Chkhikvishvili past allegedly replied, 'Well yes, we inquire group for sadistic beating, arson/explosion aliases execution vids connected camera.'

He past went connected to counsel that 'poisoning and arson are [the] champion options for murder' and suggested he see a larger 'mass execution successful nan United States.

Chkhikvishvili besides suggested nan undercover bull take 'low-race targets.' 

By November, Chkhikvishvili allegedly began scheming a 'mass casualty arena for New York City connected New Years Eve.

'The strategy progressive an individual dressing up arsenic Santa Claus and handing retired candy laced pinch poison to group minorities and children astatine Jewish schools successful Brooklyn,' prosecutors said.

He past drafted step-by-step instructions connected really to transportation retired nan scheme, penning successful a November 2 missive that nan undercover supplier should usage transportation services aliases salary pinch rate to bargain nan poisons and nan cocoa candies.

'After giving astir poisoned candies to galore group minorities and traitors, conscionable spell to [a] taxi, salary to spell location wherever you will person replacement clothes... and pain Santa apparel and equipment,' Chkhikvishvili allegedly wrote successful nan message. 

Along pinch nan message, prosecutors opportunity nan neo-Nazi provided nan undercover bull pinch manuals connected creating and mixing poisons and gases. 

He besides allegedly told nan undercover supplier to specifically target nan Jewish community, noting, 'Jews are virtually everywhere' successful Brooklyn.

It seems Chkhikvishvili had precocious hopes for nan plan, intending for it to beryllium a 'bigger action than Breivik,' referring to Anders Behring Breivik, a Norwegian neo-Nazi who killed 77 group successful a bombing and wide shooting successful 2011.

'Once you do poison attack, I'll do connection against US government,' he allegedly wrote to nan undercover supplier successful November arsenic he many times asked for position updates.

'MMC will go bigger than al Qaeda erstwhile it drops.'

When New Year's Eve passed without immoderate dislike attack, prosecutors said he switched nan scheme to attraction connected poisoning children connected 'some Jewish holiday.' 

Prosecutors besides declare that since September 2021, Chkhikvishvili had distributed a manifesto entitled Hater's Handbook, successful which he states that he has 'murdered for nan achromatic race' and is 'willing to bring much chaos successful this rotten world

'Our main extremity is to dispersed flames of Lucifer and proceed his connection of taste cleansing, awesome thrust aliases purification,' nan handbook said, according to nan criminal complaint.

It would spell connected to promote readers to perpetrate schoolhouse shootings and to usage children to perpetrate termination bombings and different wide murders targeting group minorities, prosecutors say. 

'The archive describes methods and strategies for committing wide 'terror attacks,' including, for example, utilizing vehicles to target "large outdoor festivals, conventions, celebrations and parades" and "pedestrian-congested streets,' they claim.

'It specifically encourages committing attacks wrong nan United States.'

Chkhikvishvili would moreover allegedly show others he committed dislike crimes while surviving pinch his grandma successful Brooklyn successful 2022 - bragging to nan leader of nan Feurkrieg Division, different neo-Nazi group, that he tortured and tried to termination an aged Jewish man.

Investigators later wished that Chkhikvishvili had worked for a Brooklyn-based rehabilitation installation and was employed by an Orthodox Jewish family to attraction for a now-deceased man.

'I sewage paid to torture dying Jew,' he allegedly bragged successful a connection to nan different neo-Nazi leader, sharing photos from nan aged man's infirmary bed.

But nan feds are not accusing Chkhikvishvili for nan man's death, noting they said to family members of nan deceased who said he 'had been sick for immoderate time.'

Chkhikvishviliv is now facing a maximum of 20 years successful situation for inducement of felonies, colluding to solicit convulsive felonies, distributing accusation pertaining to nan making and usage of explosive devices and transmitting threatening communication. 

It is unclear whether he has retained an lawyer who tin speak connected his behalf.