Maryland state authorities announced the arrest of the alleged leader of the trans Zizians cult, 34-year-old Jack LaSota, along with 33-year-old Michelle Zajko from Pennsylvania. The two detainees are charged with illegal entry into the country, obstruction of justice, and possession of a firearm in a vehicle.
The arrest took place on Sunday, and a bail hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Tuesday at the Allegany County District Court.
Dark History and Links to Crimes
According to The Guardian, the Zizians group has been linked to the January murder of U.S. border patrol officer David Maland near the Canadian border, as well as five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania, and California.
Maland, 44, was killed on January 20 during a shootout following a routine traffic stop in the town of Coventry, about 32 kilometers from the Canadian border. This tragic incident triggered a broader investigation that uncovered the group’s activities.
The Ideological Background of the Cult
The Zizians group appears to consist of young, intelligent computer scientists, primarily individuals aged 20 to 30, who met online, shared anarchist beliefs, and escalated to violent actions. Their writings cover a wide range of topics, from radical veganism and gender identity to artificial intelligence.
The alleged leader of the group, who calls herself “Ziz” and uses she/her pronouns, is known for her extreme online posts. In a blog she maintained, she described a theory suggesting that the two hemispheres of the brain can have different values and genders and that they “often seek to eliminate each other.”
LaSota, who identifies as a trans woman, has expressed strong hostility in her writings toward various groups, including those focused on understanding human cognition through logic and science. Some of these groups have expressed concerns about the dangers of artificial intelligence.
She has not responded to repeated attempts by the Associated Press to contact her in recent weeks. Her attorney, Daniel McGarrigle, declined to comment on her alleged involvement in the murders.
“I can only confirm that I have legally represented her,” McGarrigle stated, without commenting on her arrest or other details of the case. LaSota already had outstanding warrants in two states after failing to appear in previous court proceedings.
Authorities continue their investigation, examining the group’s motives and the circumstances under which their criminal actions were organized.
The Zizians’ Timeline of Activities
Below is a timeline of events in a series of murders that culminated in the January 20 shootout, in which a border patrol officer was killed in Vermont.
The timeline is based on interviews conducted by the Associated Press, as well as a review of police reports, court records, and online posts:
2016
Jack LaSota, a transgender woman and computer programmer living in the San Francisco Bay Area, begins writing a blog under the online persona “Ziz,” discussing complex and sometimes abstract theories on technology, gender identity, and human cognition. She becomes involved with the rationalist movement, a community that seeks to understand human cognition and is concerned about the potential risks of artificial intelligence.
2018
LaSota attends programs organized by rationalist groups but eventually splits from them after they reject her theory that the two hemispheres of the brain can hold separate values and genders.
November 2019
LaSota and three other individuals—Emma Borhanian, Gwen Danielson, and Alexander Leatham—are arrested during what they describe as a protest against sexual abuse.
August 2022
The U.S. Coast Guard responds to a report that LaSota had fallen from a boat in San Francisco Bay. No body is recovered, but an obituary is published.
November 2022
Curtis Lind files a court case to evict LaSota, Borhanian, Leatham, and others who were living in trucks and cargo containers on his property in Vallejo, California, due to non-payment of rent. On November 15, two days before the eviction deadline, Lind is stabbed with a sword and partially blinded in an attack, during which he shoots and kills Borhanian.
Concluding that Lind acted in self-defense, authorities charge Leatham and Suri Dao with murder. LaSota is not charged, but police confirm she was present at the crime scene.
December 2022
Rita and Richard Zajko are shot and killed at their home in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, on New Year’s Eve. A neighbor’s doorbell camera captures audio and video of a car approaching their house, a voice shouting “Mom!” and another voice exclaiming, “Oh my God! Oh my God, my God!”
January 2023
Police question the Zajkos’ daughter, Michelle, at her home in Vermont. A few weeks later, officers briefly detain her at a hotel in Pennsylvania but release her without charges. LaSota, who is staying at the same hotel, is arrested and charged with obstruction of a homicide investigation and disorderly conduct.
May 2024
The parents of Teresa Youngblut report her missing in Seattle after she sends emails to her mother stating that she moved in with a friend and changed her phone number.
November 2024
Youngblut and Maximilian Snyder apply for a marriage license in Washington State. That same month, Youngblut rents an apartment near Bauckholt’s home in North Carolina.
January 2025
Youngblut and Bauckholt check into a hotel in Lyndonville, Vermont, on January 14. Investigators place the pair under surveillance after a hotel employee reports concerns about their all-black tactical clothing and Youngblut’s firearm.
On January 17, Lind, the California property owner, is killed. Snyder is charged with murder, with prosecutors alleging he was attempting to prevent Lind from testifying against the previous attackers.
On January 20, U.S. Border Patrol officers stop Youngblut and Bauckholt on Interstate 91 in Coventry, Vermont. Officer David Maland and Bauckholt are killed in a shootout. Youngblut, who is injured, is charged with illegal firearm possession.
February 2025
The FBI searches a property in Chapel Hill, where, according to the homeowner, Youngblut, Bauckholt, and LaSota had been staying earlier in the winter.
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