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The man behind the Zizians — a violent AI-vegan-rationalist-transgender cult linked to six deaths — has been arrested in Maryland. 

Among the deaths involving members of the Zizian group is the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Vermont-Canada border.

Ziz, also known as Jack Amadeus LaSota, 33, was arrested last weekend in rural Allegany County, Md. after spending months on the run. Along with LaSota, police also arrested Michelle Zajko, 32, and Daniel Blank, 26, both linked to the bizarre group.

Zajko, along with LaSota, is a person of interest in the double murder of her parents, Rita and Richard Zajko, in Pennsylvania. Zajko is also believed to have bought the guns Ziz cultists Teresa Youngblut and Felix “Ophelia” Bauckholt used during last month’s shooting in Vermont.

Maland and Bauckholt both died as a result of the shooting. Youngblut is currently being held on federal charges connected to Maland’s death.

Daniel Blank

It isn’t clear what led to LaSota’s capture in Maryland. He’s charged with suspicion of trespassing on private property, obstruction, and gun possession. Both Blank and Zajko are charged with trespassing and obstruction, and Zajko is charged with having a gun on her person, according to reports. VTDigger reports police in Maryland were unaware of the cult and its connection to the other murders when they arrested LaSota, Blank, and Zajko.

All three are due in court Tuesday for their first appearance on the Maryland charges, though it’s likely other law enforcement agencies will be intervening now that LaSota has been captured. 

LaSota started the cult in the California Bay Area after years of struggling to break into the AI tech field. He attracted followers initially through his blog in which he wrote about artificial intelligence, rationalist philosophy, veganism, and transgenderism.

At one point, LaSota lived on a dilapidated tug boat where he brought his followers together and forced some into sleep deprivation techniques. A reported aim of the sleep deprivation was to unlock a subject’s transgender persona, according to multiple reports. 

The group started living in specially outfitted box trucks that contained hidden living areas, food, water, and power generators. The trucks enabled them to move undetected through urban environments, and were entered through hidden openings in the bottom of the truck, according to reports.

In August, 2022, while facing criminal charges in California, LaSota faked his own death. The ruse did not work long, as he was reported as having been seen alive by law enforcement in November 2022, according to court records. 

Michelle Zajko

LaSota spent months in a Pennsylvania jail in 2023 on charges of obstruction and disorderly conduct in connection to the investigation into the murders of Rita and Richard Zajko. LaSota, Zajko, and Blank were all questioned about the murders. LaSota was eventually released on bail after five months and soon disappeared along with Zajko and Blank. 

Zajko reportedly owned property in Vermont close to the Canadian border, and is believed to have supplied Youngblut and  Bauckholt with guns and ammunition. 

The area where the shootout occurred is part of the Border Patrol’s “Swanton Sector,” which also includes the New Hampshire-Canada border. Officials reported a massive surge in illegal crossings in the sector during the Biden presidency.

When the Biden administration cut federal funding for border security in the region, then-Gov. Chris Sununu created the Northern Border Alliance Task Force to provide resources to backstop federal efforts. Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s budget includes continued funding for the effort.

Zizian cultists are also charged in the killing of Vallejo, Calif., man Curtis Lind, 82. Lind was set to testify against cult members after they allegedly tried to kill him a year ago when Ziz cultist Maximillian Snyder stabbed him. Snyder went to high school with Youngblut and the two had a marriage license. 

The suspect in the death of Vermont U.S. Border Patrol agent David C. Maland pleaded not guilty Friday, the latest plot point in a story involving a bizarre AI-vegan-transgender cult linked to six killings across the U.S.

Teresa Youngblut, 21, appeared in the United States District Court of Vermont in Burlington on Friday for her arraignment on charges of using a deadly weapon to assault a law enforcement officer. A grand jury handed up indictments against Youngblut on Thursday. She is not yet charged with directly causing Maland’s death.

A reputed member of the Ziz cult, Youngblut’s alleged murder of Maland is just the latest violent incident in the story of the fringe sect with its belief in an AI monster bent on torturing all non-vegans.

Jack “Ziz” LaSota

Jack LaSota is a person of interest to investigators looking into multiple cases. Among them, the 2022 Delaware County, Pa. double-murder of Richard and Rita Zajko.

The Zajko’s daughter Michelle has been linked to the Ziz movement — as well as her parents’ murder.

Zajko, who identifies as “trans nonbinary.” has not been seen since the Jan. 20 shooting. Investigators have linked the guns recovered after Maland was killed to Zajko, saying she bought them in Vermont. Zajko also owns a small parcel of land in Vermont near the Canadian border.

According to reporting by VTDigger, a day after Maland’s shooting, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent an alert to firearms dealers seeking help “identifying any firearms purchases made by Michelle Jacqueline Zajko, a person of interest in the shooting of a Customs and Border Protection Officer on Jan. 20, 2025.”

“Ziz” LaSota, an Alaskan native who went to Silicon Valley to be part of the tech industry, became part of the online AI rationalist community, where young tech workers pontificated on complicated thought experiments and half-formed philosophy. Soon, he formed a community of like-minded vegans who would submit to his sleep deprivation techniques, use LSD, and who could be pushed into adopting or exploring transgender identities. 

At the heart of LaSota’s faith is the belief in a coming basilisk, an AI super being that will punish everyone who did not work to create the being. It will also, he believes, punish all those who eat animals. Like the Manson Family trying to instigate a race war to bring about Helter Skelter, LaSota reportedly tried to push his group into further and further acts of violence. 

At one point, LaSota faked his own death to avoid law enforcement. His whereabouts are still unknown.

Youngblut may have been married to Michael Snyder, a former high school classmate and fellow Zizian. The two have a marriage license, though it is not clear if they went through with the ceremony. Snyder is facing charges that he murdered an elderly Vallejo, Calif., man, Curtis Lind, weeks before Lind was set to testify against the group.

For a time, Zizians lived in storage containers set up on Lind’s property. When Lind tried to evict the group, three of them allegedly attacked him. Lind shot at them, killing one in self-defense and wounding another. Police later found a storage container outfitted with cutting tools and chemicals, theorizing the Zizians intended to dispose of Lind’s body after killing him. 

Friday’s arraignment was brief, as United States Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle previously ruled Youngblut was too dangerous to be released and ordered her held without bail pending trial.

Maland was patrolling the CBP’s Swanton Sector, which includes all of New Hampshire’s northern border and has seen a surge in illegal crossings in recent years.

According to court documents and reports, he stopped Youngblut near the Canadian border on Jan. 20 while she was driving with fellow Zizian and German national Felix Bauckholt, a biological male who was living as “Ophelia.” During the quick interaction with Maland, Youngblut reportedly drew a .40 caliber handgun and started shooting. Maland returned fire and Bauckholt reportedly fumbled drawing his weapon. Bauckholt died at the scene. Maland died at a nearby hospital.

EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that LaSota is in custody. LaSota’s whereabouts are currently unknown.