Leader of International Neo-Nazi Group Extradited to the U.S.

The Maniac Murder Cult leader was extradited from Moldova last week

Screenshot taken from court documents of an image used in a social media post calling for “no mercy” against non-white people

The Maniac Murder Cult is an online based neo-Nazi collective that promotes violence against nonwhite groups, the Jewish community, and other groups they deem “undesirables” such as unhoused people. The leader of the group, whose members distribute violent propaganda via written manuals and videos on platforms like Telegram and VKontakte, has recently been caught.

Twenty-one-year-old Michail Chkhikvishvili, of Tbilisi, Georgia, was extradited to the U.S. from Moldova last week. Chkhikvishvili, who is also known online as Mishka, Michael, Commander Butcher, and Butcher, was arraigned on May 23 on charges of soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence in New York City.

Chkhikvishvili is the alleged leader of the hate group also known as the Maniacs: Cult of Killing, MKY, MMC, and MKU. The group is part of a coalition of groups called “The Community” (The Com) that includes No Lives Matter, NSO9A, and 764, a group I recently reported on. The groups all operate on encrypted messaging platforms, spreading nihilistic and hateful ideas while exploiting and recruiting young people, mostly white young men, to their communities.