Georgian National Receives 15 Years for Soliciting Hate Crimes and Ricin Plot in New York
Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as Commander Butcher, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in Brooklyn on charges of soliciting hate crimes and distributing instructions to manufacture bombs and ricin. The term establishes a fixed period of incarceration that begins immediately and requires him to serve at least 85 percent under federal rules before supervised release.
lamag.comBROOKLYN, N.Y. — Michail Chkhikvishvili, a Georgian national known online as “Commander Butcher,” received a 15-year prison sentence today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for soliciting hate crimes against Jewish people and distributing bomb-making and ricin-production instructions.
U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon imposed the term in a hearing held May 13, 2026. The sentence covers convictions on charges that included soliciting violent hate crimes and providing technical guidance on constructing improvised explosive devices and the biological toxin ricin, per the Department of Justice announcement.
The scope of the conduct centered on New York City. Chkhikvishvili targeted Jewish institutions and individuals through online solicitations that sought to incite attacks. He also disseminated step-by-step manufacturing directions for bombs and ricin, materials that could have enabled multiple mass-casualty incidents if acted upon by recipients.
Federal prosecutors presented evidence that the instructions reached an unknown number of individuals via digital platforms, though no actual attacks occurred.
The sentence changes Chkhikvishvili’s status from pretrial detention to a fixed 15-year term of imprisonment. Under federal law he must serve approximately 12 years and nine months before becoming eligible for supervised release. The Bureau of Prisons will designate a facility, after which he faces deportation proceedings to Georgia upon completion of the term.
Downstream, the conviction triggers mandatory federal hate-crime sentencing enhancements and establishes precedent for prosecuting online solicitation of mass violence. It requires the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force to continue monitoring similar online networks that distribute ricin or explosive recipes.
The case also obliges the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York to track compliance with post-release conditions that bar Chkhikvishvili from internet access or contact with targeted communities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement must prepare removal proceedings timed to the end of the sentence.
This marks the latest federal prosecution of a foreign national who used U.S.-based online platforms to promote violence against protected groups. The original charges were brought under statutes prohibiting solicitation of civil-rights violations and distribution of information on weapons of mass destruction, following an investigation that began prior to 2024.
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