How cult leader ‘Commander Butcher’ plotted to sow mayhem across US

Guilty plea by far-right activist lays bare plans for bombings, school shootings and Santas handing out poisoned candies

Michail Chkhikvishvili, a self-described cult leader who called himself Commander Butcher", did not look like a Hollywood vision of a contemporary terrorist, despite the bizarre, almost made-for-TV extremist actions he planned, such as having people dressed as Santa Claus hand out poison candies on the streets of New York.

Chkhikvishvili appeared in a Brooklyn court last week as one might find an office IT tech: close-cropped hair and black-rimmed glasses, attentive, clear-spoken and cooperative as he was questioned about his understanding of a plea that could see him imprisoned for up to 18 years at his March sentencing.