(NewsNation) — The person believed to be the leader of a cultlike group called the “Zizians” has been arrested and faces multiple criminal charges along with another member of the group, police have announced.
Jack LaSota, 34, was arrested Sunday along with Michelle Zajko, 33, of Pennsylvania, the Maryland State Police announced Monday. The pair face charges of trespassing, obstructing and hindering along with possession of a handgun.
LaSota is said to be the leader of the Zizians, who authorities say are connected to the shooting death of David Maland, a Border Patrol agent who was killed in a shootout near the Canadian border in January. The Zizians have also been connected to five other homicides in California, Vermont and Pennsylvania.
Tracy Walder, a NewsNation national security contributor, told NewsNation the group is not necessarily a cult but rather a domestic terrorism group. Walder, a former CIA agent, said the group shares political ideology that springs from rationalism but radicalized that and became anarchists.
Federal investigators are looking into whether Maland’s killing is part of a series of deaths linked to the Zizians, a fringe online community. In addition to Maland’s death in Vermont, police are investigating whether the cult is behind a California landlord being stabbed with a Samurai sword and other crimes. Authorities described the Zizians as a “death cult.”
The group is reportedly made up of students who studied artificial intelligence and computer science. The Zizians are named for LaSota, a computer engineer, who goes by the nickname “Ziz.”
Teresa Youngblut, 21, was charged in Maland’s death on Jan. 20 in Coventry, Vermont, which is about 20 miles from the Canadian border. Police said the gun used in Maland’s death has been linked to a 2022 double homicide in Pennsylvania.
The Associated Press reported that LaSota uses she/her pronouns and says in her writings that she is a transgender woman. LaSota reportedly railed against perceived enemies in writings, including so-called rationalist groups, which operate mostly online and seek to understand human cognition through reason and knowledge.
Police believe that LaSota faked their death in 2022 and is now wanted in two states, according to the media site Open Vallejo. The site reported LaSota was detained by police after a stabbing death in Northern California.
LaSota’s attorney, Daniel McGarrigle, declined to comment when asked whether she is connected to any of the deaths. Before her weekend arrest, she missed court appearances in two states, and bench warrants were issued.
LaSota was ordered held without bail after appearing in court on Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story
