Neo-Nazi leader accused of inspiring school shooting, plotting NYC attack extradited to US
Federal officials extradited an international neo-Nazi group leader they say inspired a teen to commit a school shooting in Tennessee earlier this year and plotted to commit a mass casualty attack in New York City targeting Jewish people.
The terrorist group's leader, 21-year-old Michail Chkhikvishvili, orchestrated deadly attacks around the globe, prosecutors said. The citizen of the nation of Georgia was extradited from Moldova on May 22 after he was arrested in July. He was scheduled to be arraigned in Brooklyn on May 23, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The DOJ said the man, who went by the name "Commander Butcher," was the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, which goes by several other names including MKY. Chkhikvishvili has distributed a writing called the "Hater's Handbook," encouraging people to commit acts of mass violence and "ethnic cleansing," according to court filings. His "solicitations of violence" led to international attacks, including a 2024 stabbing outside a mosque in Turkey, prosecutors said.
Chkhikvishvili targeted the U.S. as a site for more attacks because of the ease of accessing firearms, prosecutors said in court records.
He told an undercover law enforcement employee, 'I see USA as big potential because accessibility to firearms and other resources,' in an electronic message sent Sept. 8, 2023, court filings show.
It was not clear if Chkhikvishvili had an attorney who could speak on his behalf
Chkhikvishvili has been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on four counts including solicitation of violent felonies. The charges stemmed from Chkhikvishvili's communications with an undercover FBI employee in which he trained and encouraged the undercover agent to carry out a mass attack against Jewish people and minorities. Chkhikvishvili corresponded with the undercover agent between September 2023 and at least March 2024.
The plot included having an individual wearing a Santa Claus costume hand out poisoned candies to Jewish kids in New York City on New Year's Eve. It later evolved into targeting Jewish people on a larger scale. Chkhikvishvili said he wanted the attack to be a "bigger action than Breivik," prosecutors said. Breivik refers to Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in a massacre in Norway in 2011 that targeted mostly teenagers at a camp.
"His goal was to spread hatred, fear, and destruction by encouraging bombings, arson, and even poisoning children," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said last year.
The MKY group is based in Russia and Ukraine but has members around the world, including the U.S., according to a federal complaint. Members adhere to neo-Nazi ideology promoting violence against racial minorities.
The man's arrest came before the deadly attack at Antioch High School on Jan. 22, 2025. However, prosecutors in the New York federal court linked the Antioch shooting to Chkhikvishvili's solicitations of violence in a court filing on May 23, the Nashville Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
Prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York wrote to the judge requesting the man be incarcerated before trial. They pointed to several ways his actions have 'directly resulted in real violence,' including the shooting at Antioch High School.
According to the prosecutors, the 17-year-old attacker claimed he was taking action on behalf of MKY and at least one other group in an audio recording posted online before the shooting.
It is not clear if the shooter was a member of MKY or had contact with Chkhikvishvili or other members of the terrorist organization. Chkhikvishvili said the group asks for video of brutal beatings, arson, explosions or murders to join the group, adding that the victims should be 'low race targets.'
Chkhikvishvili's name also appeared in the document the DOJ said was written by the Antioch shooter – a 300-page writing in which the shooter espoused misanthropic White supremacist and Nazi ideologies. The shooter also referred to the founder of MKY and said he would write the founder's name on his gun, according to prosecutors.
Josselin Corea Escalante, 16, died after the 17-year-old shot her with a pistol in the cafeteria of Antioch High School. Another student was injured during the attack. The shooter, 17-year-old student Solomon Henderson, then shot and killed himself.
Contributing: Michael Loria, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Neo-Nazi leader who inspired school shooting extradited to US
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
13 hours ago
Police in northeast Ohio arrest man who allegedly menaced GOP US Rep. Max Miller on interstate
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A northeast Ohio man was arrested Thursday on allegations that he threatened and spewed antisemitic epithets at Republican U.S. Rep. Max Miller while the two were traveling on an interstate highway near Cleveland. Police in Rocky River said Feras S. Hamdan, 36, of Westlake, voluntarily turned himself in with counsel present and is awaiting an appearance in municipal court. A message was left with his lawyer seeking comment. Miller, who is Jewish, called 911 while driving on Interstate 90 on his way to work Thursday. He reported that another driver was cutting him off, making profane hand gestures, showing a Palestinian flag and shouting death threats targeted at him and his 1-year-old daughter. After an interview with police, Miller filed a complaint against Hamdan alleging aggravated menacing and sought a criminal protective order. Local police continue to investigate with assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorney's office and the Rocky River prosecutor. The Ohio Jewish Caucus praised Rocky River police and extended their thoughts to Miller and his family, noting the incident followed by just days the politically motivated shootings in Minnesota, which left two people dead and two others injured. 'Enough is enough," the all-Democratic legislative alliance said in a statement. "There is no place for this type of violence — whether it be political, antisemitic, or ideological — whatsoever. We believe we can solve our differences with humility, not hatred.'
San Francisco Chronicle
19 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. DA charges second suspect in antisemitic attack in Marina
A second suspect in a recent antisemitic attack in the Marina District was charged Friday with two counts of assault and hate crime, San Francisco District Attorney's Office said. Prosecutors said Alejandro Flores-Lamas, 22, was among a group of about six people who were walking on the 3100 block of Fillmore Street heard saying 'F— the Jews, Free Palestine' early Saturday morning and then attacked a bystander. The victim, 27, and a friend were sitting on a curb waiting for an Uber after a night out, the friend, Alana Gans, 28, told the Chronicle Sunday. Gans said she told one of the men that she was Jewish and asked him to leave, and he responded with 'f— you,' Gans recounted. The other men recorded what was happening on their cell phones, laughed and shouted 'f— Jews,' Gans said. Gans said members of the group started to beat the victim, who prosecutors said hit his head and lost consciousness. Prosecutors said Flores-Lamas and the other group members continued to punch and kick the victim when he was down. Gans said her friend suffered a swollen lip, two bumps on the front of his head and a third on the back of his head. She was also knocked to the ground but did not suffer any injuries, she said. Prosecutors said a worker at a nearby business heard the antisemitic language and attempted to intervene but was also kicked and punched. Earlier this week, another suspect in the attack was charged with two counts of assault and hate crime allegations. The man was ordered to remain in jail without bail Wednesday. Flores-Lamas was arraigned on Friday, and he pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied the allegations, prosecutors said. Flores-Lamas' next court date was scheduled for July 2 for a preliminary hearing on the case. Over the prosecutors' objection, the court released Flores-Lamas and will rule on the motion whether to detain him after the hearing. As conditioned by his release, Flores-Lamas was ordered to appear at all subsequent hearings and must not contact any of the victims, prosecutors said. This case was still an ongoing investigation, and anyone with information was asked to call the San Francisco Police Department tip line at 1-415-575-4444.
Axios
a day ago
- Axios
"Zero tolerance": SF leaders denounce recent acts of antisemitism
Local officials and community leaders gathered Friday at City Hall to condemn a recent string of antisemitic incidents and to assure San Franciscans that perpetrators will be punished. Why it matters: The public stand comes after Jewish-owned cafe Manny's was vandalized and a man accused of a violent attack in the Marina was charged with a hate crime. What they're saying: "As a member of the Jewish community, these incidents hit close to home," Mayor Daniel Lurie said. "I want to be clear that we have zero tolerance for acts of hatred. ... If you commit a hate crime in San Francisco, we will find you and we will arrest you." There has been "a dramatic rise in antisemitism locally and nationally, on both polar extremes left and right of our politics," Tye Gregory, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said at the press conference. "This isn't about what's going on outside of the United States in the Middle East or anywhere else," district attorney Brooke Jenkins said. "This is about what we believe and who we are." State of play: Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, the Bay Area Jewish Community Federation has recorded over 40 threats — including bomb threats to local synagogues, schools and community centers — and more than 220 incidents of harassment and intimidation, senior vice president Rebecca Randall said Friday. Manny's was hit with graffiti saying "F**k Manny" and "The only good settler is a dead 1" following a night of anti-ICE protests earlier in June. Meanwhile, the attack in the Marina occurred after a Jewish woman asked a group of people to stop shouting "F**k Jews, free Palestine," she told the San Francisco Chronicle. Juan Diaz-Rivas punched the woman's friend, repeating antisemitic remarks and causing him to lose consciousness, prosecutors allege. Diaz-Rivas has pleaded not guilty. The big picture: Jewish leaders across the nation have warned that President Trump's invocation of antisemitism to justify policies like slashing college funds and deporting student protesters risks making Jewish people scapegoats.
