Georgian National Extradited from Moldova to Face Charges for Soliciting Hate Crimes and Planning Mass Casualty Attack in New York City
Friday, May 23, 2025
BROOKLYN, NY – Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as “Mishka,” “Michael,” “Commander Butcher,” and “Butcher,” was extradited to the United States from Moldova on May 22, 2025 and will be arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn this morning before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo. Chkhikvishvili was arrested in Chișinău, Moldova in July 2024 in connection with a four-count indictment returned in the Eastern District of New York charging him with soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence in New York City. Chkhikvishvili is a leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, also known as “Maniacs Murder Cult,” “Maniacs: Cult of Killing,” “MKY,” “MMC,” and “MKU,” an international racially motivated violent extremist group. As alleged in the indictment, Chkhikvishvili recruited people to commit violent acts in furtherance of MKY’s ideologies, including planning and soliciting a mass casualty attack in New York City.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/georgian-national-extradited-moldova-face-charges-soliciting-hate-crimes-and-planning