The alleged leader of a cultlike group known as the Zizians has been arrested in Maryland, along with another group member, according to Maryland State Police on Monday.
Authorities arrested Jack Lasota, 34, and Michelle Zajko, 33, from Media, Pennsylvania, on Sunday. They face several charges, including trespassing, obstructing and hindering, and possession of a handgun in their vehicle.
The pair are scheduled for a bail hearing at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Allegany District Court, CBS News reported.
The Zizians have been connected to six homicides, including the death of US Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Canadian border in January, with additional killings in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California.
Maland, 44, lost his life in a January 20 shootout after initiating a traffic stop in Coventry, Vermont, situated approximately 20 miles from the Canadian border.
The Border Patrol incident’s criminal complaint states that 21-year-old Teresa Youngblut was operating a vehicle with a German passenger when gunfire erupted shortly after they were stopped.
The German national, Felix Baukholt, was found to have an expired visa in a Department of Homeland Security database.
Court records indicate that Youngblut allegedly fired a handgun without warning at a minimum of one Border Patrol agent from the driver’s position. The exchange resulted in injuries to Maland, Youngblut and Baukholt. According to CBS News Minnesota, Baukholt died at the scene, while Maland succumbed to his injuries at hospital.
The firearm used in Vermont has been linked to the December 31, 2022, deaths of Richard and Rita Zajko in Pennsylvania. US Attorney Michael Drescher’s court filing states that both Youngblut and the weapon purchaser maintained frequent contact with a person of interest in the Pennsylvania investigation, who is also connected to a California homicide.
Investigators have released limited information about this cross-country case, which gained momentum after Maland’s January 20 death. Associated Press research reveals how young, intellectually gifted computer scientists, primarily in their 20s and 30s, connected online, shared anarchist ideologies, and became increasingly violent.
Their objectives remain unclear, with online writings covering topics from radical veganism and gender identity to artificial intelligence.
At the centre is “Ziz,” the apparent group leader, who has been observed near multiple crime scenes and maintains connections with various suspects.
Under the name Ziz, LaSota maintained a dark blog, including a section about brain hemispheres potentially holding separate values and genders with murderous intentions towards each other.
LaSota, who identifies as a transgender woman using she/her pronouns, criticised perceived adversaries, including rationalist groups that operate online to understand human cognition through reason and knowledge, with some focusing on potential AI dangers.
LaSota, 34, has not replied to recent Associated Press communications, and her lawyer Daniel McGarrigle declined to comment on potential connections to the deaths. Prior to her recent arrest, she missed court appearances in two states, resulting in bench warrants.
When contacted Monday, McGarrigle only confirmed his representation of LaSota, declining to discuss her arrest or current case details.
