The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday that a federal grand jury has indicted an alleged foreign neo-Nazi “murder cult” leader for plotting a mass-casualty terror attack and hate crime in New York City.
According to court documents, Mikhail Tsikvishvili, also known as “Commander Butcher,” is accused of asking an undercover FBI agent to carry out a mass attack on New Year's Eve 2023 by dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out poisoned candy to Jewish school children and racial minorities in Brooklyn. Tsikvishvili, a Georgian national, is one of the leaders of the Maniac Murder Cult, a violent neo-Nazi group based in Russia and Ukraine, and is accused of planning several other crimes, including bombings and arson.
“I am Commander Butcher, a born National Socialist and curator of MMC, also known as the Maniacs Murder Cult,” reads a copy of the document, called “The Hater's Handbook,” obtained by the FBI. “I am proud to say that I am willing to commit murder for the white man and bring more chaos to this corrupted world. This book is addressed to readers who are or are willing to become brutal warriors and are ready to take massive action. Our primary objective is to spread the fire of Lucifer and continue his mission of ethnic cleansing, the great drive of purification.” (Related: US reports receive intelligence about Iranian plot to assassinate President Trump)
According to court documents, Tsikbishvili provided an undercover FBI agent with detailed plans for carrying out Santa Claus-themed attacks, with instructions to purchase poison and possibly recruit others to help carry out the attacks. The alleged militant leader also sent the undercover agent a document titled the “Mujahideen Poison Handbook,” which details how to make different types of poison to further “Islamic Jihad.”
FBI agents allege in court documents that the handbook is linked to designated foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). A copy of the document was found on an ISIS laptop recovered in 2014, Foreign Policy magazine reported. report.
According to court documents, Tsikhikvishvili also “repeatedly made statements praising Islamic jihad.”
According to court documents, the attack was not carried out on New Year's Eve. Undercover agents warned that it would “deal a huge blow to the Maniacs murder cult.” “That's exactly what we want,” Tsikbishvili said, bragging that after the attack the group would be “bigger than al-Qaeda.”
According to the Washington Post, Tsikvishvili was arrested in Moldova on July 6th on orders from Interpol. report.
If convicted, Chikhvishvili faces up to 20 years in prison for soliciting a violent crime, up to five years in prison for conspiracy to commit a violent crime, up to 20 years in prison for distributing materials related to making explosives, and an additional five years in prison for sending threatening letters. according to To the Department of Justice.
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