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By Monica Sager
Live News Reporter
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The alleged leader of the cult-like group the "Zizians" that is connected to the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland, has been arrested, according to Maryland State Police.
Why It Matters
The "death cult" is said to revolve around Ziz, who is a transgender woman. Ziz, whose legal name is Jack LaSota, garnered a following online after posting about her ethical and social theories on her blog, Sinceriously.
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The Zizians have been tied to Maland's killing as well as five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California. Maland, 44, was killed in northern Vermont from a shot in the neck just after President Donald Trump was sworn in hundreds of miles away in Washington, D.C. Maland, who worked security duty at the Pentagon during the September 11 attacks, was conducting a traffic stop near the Canadian border.
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What To Know
Jack LaSota, 34, was arrested on Sunday along with Michelle Zajko, 33. They are facing multiple charges including trespassing, obstructing and hindering as well as possession of a handgun in a vehicle, as reported by The Associated Press.
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Daniel Blank was also arrested on Sunday.
Starting in 2021, LaSota reportedly advocated the killing of various people and the punishment of "non-good" people, like non-vegans, according to Aella, who previously posted to X about knowing several people involved or adjacent to the Zizians.
Jessica Taylor, friend of the person who killed Maland, previously told Newsweek it seems that LaSota recruits transgender members who might be financially vulnerable and ripe for radicalization. Most members are acting on their own accord, however, Taylor said she believes.
The Associated Press reported that the Zizians consist of young, highly intelligent computer scientists, most of whom are in their 20s and 30s. The group met online and shared anarchist beliefs, which became increasingly more violent. LaSota's posts were against perceived enemies including so-called rationalist groups online.
LaSota had faked their death in 2022, and an obituary was published in September of that year claiming that they died in a boating accident.
But on January 13, 2023, LaSota was arrested in Pennsylvania for "obstructing administration of law" and "disorderly conduct." LaSota made bail in June and stopped showing up to court.
Zajko is a bioinformatics researcher. The guns used to kill Maland were determined to belong to Zajko. She was identified as a person of interest in other murders as well, including the murder of Curtis Lind, a landlord in Vallejo, California, who was stabbed to death three days before the Vermont shooting.
Lind and Maland's deaths come two years after Zajko's parents, Richard and Rita Zajko, were found dead in their Delaware County, Pennsylvania, home in January 2023.
What's Next
A judge ordered for LaSota to be held without bail, citing flight risk concerns as well as how they are a danger to public safety.
The three are all expected to appear remotely for a bail hearing on Tuesday.
Update 02/18/25 12:54 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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