A neo-Nazi planned to poison minority children in New York with candy from a fake Santa Claus. The court sent him to prison for this and other hateful acts.
A white supremacist who planned for his accomplice to dress up as Santa Claus and distribute poisoned candy to ethnic minority children in New York was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday.
As reported by the AFP agency, 22-year-old Georgian citizen Mikhail Chchikvishvili, also known as Commander Butcher, pleaded guilty before the court to inciting hate crimes and distributing instructions for making bombs and ricin.
An international neo-Nazi group
The prosecution stated before the court that Chchikvishvili is the leader of the international neo-Nazi group Maniac Murder Cult. He was detained during an undercover operation by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The prosecutor’s office found that Chchikvishvili “recruited people to commit violent acts in accordance with the group’s ideology, including planning and inciting a mass attack in New York.” He used the encrypted application Telegram during recruitment. In this way, he also tried to lure a person who was actually an undercover FBI agent to carry out bombings and arson attacks targeting racial minorities and Jews.
Extradition and trial
Chchikvishvili was extradited by Moldova to the US in May 2025, where he went on trial in Brooklyn in the fall, in which he was charged with several serious crimes, including incitement to hate crimes and mass violence. The indictment also included an alleged plot to poison Jewish children in Brooklyn.
