Latest news with #hateCrimes
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Rising antisemitism is causing immense harm to American Jews
'A Sacramento rabbi speaks out about rising antisemitism,' ( May 24) Rabbi Reuven Taff's article resonated with me. He expressed the painful reality Jewish people are experiencing across California and around the country, facing violent hate crimes at schools and synagogues and Jewish communal facilities, like the Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. Callous indifference appears to be mounting to abuses and expressions of bigotry and discrimination against Jews. Anti-Jewish sentiment is widespread in America, and it is causing immense harm to Jewish Americans as individuals, as families and as a community. People of conscience need to step up as allies and speak out in defense of freedom, equality and safety for Jews and in defense of the rights and welfare of Americans of all backgrounds and identities. Noam Schimmel Lecturer, UC Berkeley 'California updates track meet rules after Trump threat,' ( May 27) California state law correctly protects the rights of all public school students, including trans students, to be free from discrimination while participating in school-sponsored activities. To the extent that the President of the United States and California State School Superintendent candidate Sonja Shaw, who is running on an anti-trans platform, think they have the power and/or ability to restrict California's students simply because they don't like our non-discrimination laws just goes to show what despicable bullies they truly are. The 16-year-old trans student and her mother who are now caught in the eye of this storm are real-life heroines for not only standing up to the bullies holding positions of power in federal and local government, but also to hate-mongering individuals screaming at them from the track meet stands. Like the state of Maine, I have no doubt that Attorney General Rob Bonta will legally challenge any unlawful action taken by the federal government against California and our students. Wendi Ross Roseville 'US Senate votes to overturn California bid to ban gasoline-powered vehicles,' ( May 22) Congratulations to Congress for blocking California's unprecedented and short-sighted attempt to ban gas-powered vehicles by 2035. In a stunning defeat for Gov. Gavin Newsom, this move restores some policy sanity to the once 'Golden State.' In a state leading the nation in poverty, with some of the highest costs of living, Newsom seems determined to remake the state into a haven for only the wealthy. Michael Pruden Sacramento 'California waives the rules for wildfire rebuilding projects,' ( Jan. 29) Safeguarding communities from wildfires is imperative, but the Fix Our Forests Act, co-sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla, isn't the answer. The bill ignores decades of science-backed research and promotes reckless backcountry logging that fails to keep people or communities safer. It doesn't mitigate fire behavior in extreme wind-driven wildfires and may even worsen fire risk because forest floors will experience increased exposure to the sun's drying heat, and windbreaks will be lost. We deserve legislation protecting forests and providing real defense against wildfires, not the faux fix of this bill. Jennifer Normoyle Hillsborough
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
DOJ says leader of neo-Nazi ‘murder cult' influenced Antioch school shooter
NEW YORK (AP/WKRN) — The leader of an eastern European neo-Nazi group has been extradited to the United States from Moldova following his arrest last summer for allegedly instructing an undercover federal agent to dress as Santa Claus and hand out poisoned candy to Jewish children and racial minorities, prosecutors said. Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 21-year-old from the republic of Georgia, was arraigned Friday before a federal judge in Brooklyn on multiple felonies, including soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence. He pleaded not guilty through an attorney, Samuel Gregory, who requested his client receive a psychiatric evaluation and be placed on suicide watch while in custody. Gregory did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Antioch High School Shooting | Continuing Coverage Prosecutors described Chkhikvishvili, who also goes by 'Commander Butcher,' as the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, an international extremist group that adheres to a 'neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence and violent acts against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems 'undesirables.'' They said the group's violent solicitations — promoted through Telegram channels and outlined a manifesto called the 'Hater's Handbook' — appear to have inspired multiple real life killings, including a deadly shooting at Antioch High School earlier this year. On Jan. 22, the Metro Nashville Police Department said 17-year-old Solomon Henderson opened fire inside Antioch High, killing 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante and injuring another student before taking his own life. Court filings show the attacker claimed he was doing it on behalf of the group MKY, which is another name for the Maniac Murder Cult. The U.S. Department of Justice said the Antioch gunman mentioned 'Commander Butcher' by name in the audio recording left before the shooting. Juvenile court records of Antioch school shooter released Since 2022, Chkhikvishvili has traveled on multiple occasions to Brooklyn, where he bragged about beating up an elderly Jewish man and instructed others, primarily through text messages, to commit violent acts on behalf of the Maniac Murder Cult, according to court papers. When he was approached by an undercover FBI agent in 2023, Chkhikvishvili recruited the official to a scheme that 'involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities and children at Jewish schools in Brooklyn,' according to the DOJ. He later suggested narrowing the focus to 'dead Jewish kids,' prosecutors said, after noting that 'Jews are literally everywhere' in Brooklyn. Describing his desire to carry out a mass casualty attack, Chkhikvishvili said he saw the United States as 'big potential because accessibility to firearms,' adding that the undercover should consider targeting homeless people because the government wouldn't care 'even if they die,' according to court papers. ⏩ He was arrested last July in Moldova, where he was held prior to this week's extradition. In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the case was 'a stark reminder of the kind of terrorism we face today: online networks plotting unspeakable acts of violence against children, families, and the Jewish community in pursuit of a depraved, extremist ideology.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CTV News
24-05-2025
- CTV News
Leader of neo-Nazi 'murder cult' extradited to the U.S. from Moldova
NEW YORK — WARNING: This story contains disturbing content The leader of an eastern European neo-Nazi group has been extradited to the United States from Moldova following his arrest last summer for allegedly instructing an undercover federal agent to dress as Santa Claus and hand out poisoned candy to Jewish children and racial minorities, prosecutors said. Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 21-year-old from the republic of Georgia, was arraigned Friday before a federal judge in Brooklyn on multiple felonies, including soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence. He pleaded not guilty through an attorney, Samuel Gregory, who requested his client receive a psychiatric evaluation and be placed on suicide watch while in custody. Gregory did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Prosecutors described Chkhikvishvili, who also goes by 'Commander Butcher,' as the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, an international extremist group that adheres to a 'neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence and violent acts against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems 'undesirables.'' They said the group's violent solicitations — promoted through Telegram channels and outlined a manifesto called the 'Hater's Handbook' — appear to have inspired multiple real life killings, including a school shooting in Nashville, Tenn., earlier this year that left a 16-year-old student dead. Since 2022, Chkhikvishvili has traveled on multiple occasions to Brooklyn, where he bragged about beating up an elderly Jewish man and instructed others, primarily through text messages, to commit violent acts on behalf of the Maniac Murder Cult, according to court papers. When he was approached by an undercover FBI agent in 2023, Chkhikvishvili recruited the official to a scheme that 'involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities and children at Jewish schools in Brooklyn,' according to the Justice Department. He later suggested narrowing the focus to 'dead Jewish kids,' prosecutors said, after noting that 'Jews are literally everywhere' in Brooklyn. Describing his desire to carry out a mass casualty attack, Chkhikvishvili said he saw the United States as 'big potential because accessibility to firearms,' adding that the undercover should consider targeting homeless people because the government wouldn't care 'even if they die,' according to court papers. He was arrested last July in Moldova, where he was held prior to this week's extradition. In a statement, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the case was 'a stark reminder of the kind of terrorism we face today: online networks plotting unspeakable acts of violence against children, families, and the Jewish community in pursuit of a depraved, extremist ideology.' Jake Offenhartz, The Associated Press
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- The Guardian
Georgian man extradited to US to face charges over poison-candy terror plot
The leader of an eastern European neo-Nazi group has been extradited to the United States from Moldova following his arrest last summer for allegedly instructing an undercover federal agent to dress as Santa Claus and hand out poisoned candy to Jewish children and racial minorities, prosecutors said. Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 21-year-old from the republic of Georgia, was arraigned on Friday before a federal judge in Brooklyn on multiple felonies, including soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence. He pleaded not guilty through an attorney, Samuel Gregory, who requested his client receive a psychiatric evaluation and be placed on suicide watch while in custody. Gregory did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Prosecutors described Chkhikvishvili, who also goes by 'Commander Butcher', as the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, an international extremist group that adheres to a 'neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence and violent acts against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems 'undesirables''. They said the group's violent solicitations – promoted through Telegram channels and outlined a manifesto called the Hater's Handbook – appear to have inspired multiple real-life killings, including a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier this year that left a 16-year-old student dead. Since 2022, Chkhikvishvili has traveled on multiple occasions to Brooklyn, where he bragged about beating up an elderly Jewish man and instructed others, primarily through text messages, to commit violent acts on behalf of the Maniac Murder Cult, according to court papers. When he was approached by an undercover FBI agent in 2023, Chkhikvishvili recruited the official in a scheme that 'involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities and children at Jewish schools in Brooklyn', according to the US justice department. He later suggested narrowing the focus to 'dead Jewish kids', prosecutors said, after noting that 'Jews are literally everywhere' in Brooklyn. Describing his desire to carry out a mass casualty attack, Chkhikvishvili said he saw the United States as 'big potential because accessibility to firearms', adding that the undercover agent should consider targeting homeless people because the government wouldn't care 'even if they die', according to court papers. He was arrested last July in Moldova, where he was held before this week's extradition. In a statement, the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said the case was 'a stark reminder of the kind of terrorism we face today: online networks plotting unspeakable acts of violence against children, families, and the Jewish community in pursuit of a depraved, extremist ideology'.
Associated Press
23-05-2025
- Associated Press
Leader of neo-Nazi 'murder cult' extradited to the US from Moldova
NEW YORK (AP) — The leader of an eastern European neo-Nazi group has been extradited to the United States from Moldova following his arrest last summer for allegedly instructing an undercover federal agent to dress as Santa Claus and hand out poisoned candy to Jewish children and racial minorities, prosecutors said. Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 21-year-old from the republic of Georgia, was arraigned Friday before a federal judge in Brooklyn on multiple felonies, including soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence. He pleaded not guilty through an attorney, Samuel Gregory, who requested his client receive a psychiatric evaluation and be placed on suicide watch while in custody. Gregory did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Prosecutors described Chkhikvishvili, who also goes by 'Commander Butcher,' as the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, an international extremist group that adheres to a 'neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence and violent acts against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems 'undesirables.'' They said the group's violent solicitations — promoted through Telegram channels and outlined a manifesto called the 'Hater's Handbook' — appear to have inspired multiple real life killings, including a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier this year that left a 16-year-old student dead. Since 2022, Chkhikvishvili has traveled on multiple occasions to Brooklyn, where he bragged about beating up an elderly Jewish man and instructed others, primarily through text messages, to commit violent acts on behalf of the Maniac Murder Cult, according to court papers. When he was approached by an undercover FBI agent in 2023, Chkhikvishvili recruited the official to a scheme that 'involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities and children at Jewish schools in Brooklyn,' according to the Justice Department. He later suggested narrowing the focus to 'dead Jewish kids,' prosecutors said, after noting that 'Jews are literally everywhere' in Brooklyn. Describing his desire to carry out a mass casualty attack, Chkhikvishvili said he saw the United States as 'big potential because accessibility to firearms,' adding that the undercover should consider targeting homeless people because the government wouldn't care 'even if they die,' according to court papers. He was arrested last July in Moldova, where he was held prior to this week's extradition. In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the case was 'a stark reminder of the kind of terrorism we face today: online networks plotting unspeakable acts of violence against children, families, and the Jewish community in pursuit of a depraved, extremist ideology.'
