Was the Antioch High School Shooting Inspired by a Neo-Nazi Death Cult?

Was the Antioch High School Shooting Inspired by a Neo-Cult?

Michail Chkhikvishvili isn’t a household name yet, but if the allegations against him hold up, he may be one of the most dangerous international extremists you’ve never heard of. Known online as “Commander Butcher,” Chkhikvishvili is a 21-year-old citizen of Georgia who federal prosecutors say has been orchestrating acts of hate and violence from behind a keyboard. He was extradited from Moldova to the United States on May 22 and arraigned in Brooklyn federal court the following day.

According to the Department of Justice, Chkhikvishvili helped lead the Maniac Murder Cult, or MKY, a neo-Nazi extremist group operating primarily out of Russia and Ukraine, but with a disturbing global footprint. MKY pushes for violence against racial minorities, Jewish people, and others it deems “undesirable.” Members of the group are encouraged to prove their loyalty by submitting videos of brutal attacks, arson, and murder. They also publish something called the “Hater’s Handbook,” a manual urging followers to commit mass killings, with step-by-step instructions on how to pull it off.

Prosecutors allege Chkhikvishvili was behind a planned New Year’s Eve attack in New York City, where a disguised attacker was supposed to hand out poisoned candy to Jewish children. That plan, thankfully, was thwarted by the FBI. But Chkhikvishvili is also linked to several real-world attacks, including a mosque stabbing in Turkey, a ritualistic murder in Romania, and, most alarmingly for this blog, the Antioch High School shooting in Nashville.

Yes, that Antioch shooting.

The Department of Justice claims that Solomon Henderson, the 17-year-old who killed a fellow student and then himself in the Antioch High cafeteria, was inspired by MKY. According to court filings, Henderson mentioned Chkhikvishvili by name and referenced MKY’s founder in both his writings and a pre-shooting audio recording. He claimed the attack was in part carried out on behalf of MKY and at least one other extremist group. He even said he would write the name of MKY’s founder on his gun.

Henderson, it should be noted, was Black. That doesn’t make the ideology any less real. In fact, it makes it even more unhinged. Like other mass shooters before him, Henderson embraced white supremacist and neo-Nazi propaganda, despite being part of a group those ideologies openly despise. That contradiction isn’t unique. It’s happened before. It’ll probably happen again. Extremism doesn’t require logic, just hatred.

I believe the DOJ’s account of Henderson’s connection to MKY is probably accurate. The details they’ve released line up with what’s already known about Henderson’s ideology and online activity. But I’d still like to see a second source confirm it. This administration’s DOJ has had a spotty record at best, and they have a political interest in framing all violent threats through a specific lens. When facts this serious come out, they deserve corroboration.

That said, this is one of the more unusual aspects of a school shooting I’ve read about in the past 25 years. I’ve seen Columbiners, incels, Satanists, and nihilists, but a Black neo-Nazi inspired by a foreign extremist cult leader operating out of Moldova and Ukraine? That’s a new one.

One thing that doesn’t need verifying is what Chkhikvishvili reportedly said about the United States. In conversations with an undercover agent, he said the U.S. was a prime target for violent extremists because of its easy access to firearms. That’s the part that should scare everyone. Because he’s not wrong.

(Sources)