Civil Rights News Update

Offices of the United States Attorneys

You are subscribed to Civil Rights news updates. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Mailing Threatening Communications to Jewish Institutions and Civil Rights Violations 11/17/2025 07:00 AM EST The Department of Justice announced that Clift Seferlis, 55, of Garrett Park, Maryland, entered a plea of guilty today before U.S. District Judge Mark A. Kearney on 17 counts of mailing threatening communications and eight counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs, arising from numerous threats sent to Jewish organizations and entities. Leader of White Supremacist Group Pleads Guilty to Soliciting Hate Crimes and Sending Instructions to Make Bombs and Ricin 11/17/2025 07:00 AM EST Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as "Mishka," "Michael," "Commander Butcher," and "Butcher," pleaded guilty to soliciting hate crimes and sending instructions to make bombs and ricin.  Chkhikvishvili was a leader of Maniac Murder Cult, an international racially motivated violent extremist group.  Chkhikvishvili recruited people to commit violent acts in furtherance of Maniac Murder Cult's ideologies, including planning and soliciting a mass casualty attack in New York City.  In May 2025, Chkhikvishvili was extradited from Moldova to the Eastern District of New York.

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