"Prosecutors described Chkhikvishvili as the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, an international extremist group that adheres to an ideology that promotes violence intended to trigger a racial and religious war. They said the group's violent solicitations - promoted through Telegram channels and outlined a manifesto called the "Hater's Handbook" - appear to have inspired multiple real-life killings, including a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier this year that left a 16-year-old student dead."
"Chkhikvishvili was arrested in July 2024 in Moldova. He was extradited to the United States in May. Since 2022, Chkhikvishvili has traveled on multiple occasions to Brooklyn, where he bragged about beating up an elderly Jewish man and instructed others, primarily through text messages, to commit violent acts on behalf of the Maniac Murder Cult, according to prosecutors. When he was approached by an undercover FBI agent in 2023, Chkhikvishvili recruited the official to various schemes,"
Michail Chkhikvishvili, 22, pleaded guilty in Brooklyn to soliciting hate crimes and distributing information about making bombs and ricin. Federal prosecutors will seek up to 18 years in prison. Chkhikvishvili led the Maniac Murder Cult, an international extremist neo-Nazi group that promotes violence to trigger racial and religious war. The group promoted violent solicitations through Telegram and a manifesto called the "Hater's Handbook," and prosecutors say those solicitations appear to have inspired real-world killings. He was arrested in July 2024 in Moldova and extradited to the United States in May. Prosecutors say he recruited others for violent plots, including schemes targeting children and Jewish schools.
Read at NBC New York
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