Zizians: Jack Lasota, leader of cult-like group linked to killings in United States arrested
The apparent leader of a cult-like group in the United States known as the Zizians has been arrested with another member of the organisation.
Jack Lasota, 34, was arrested in Maryland on Sunday with Michelle Zajko, 33, Maryland State Police said.
They face charges including trespassing, obstructing and hindering and possession of a handgun in a vehicle.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.A bail hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at Allegany District Court in Maryland.
The Zizians have been tied to the killing of US Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Canadian border in January and five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California.
Maland, 44, was killed in a January 20 shootout after a traffic stop in Coventry, Vermont, a small town about 30km from the Canadian border.
Officials have offered few details of the cross-country investigation.
Associated Press interviews and a review of court records and online postings show how a group of young, highly intelligent computer scientists, most of them in their 20s and 30s, met online, shared anarchist beliefs and became increasingly violent.
Their goals are not clear, but online writings span topics from radical veganism and gender identity to artificial intelligence.
At the middle of it all is “Ziz”, who appears to be the leader of the group members who called themselves Zizians.
She has been seen near multiple crime scenes and has connections to various suspects.
LaSota published a dark and sometimes violent blog under the name Ziz, and in one section, described her theory that the two hemispheres of the brain could hold separate values and genders and “often desire to kill each other”.
LaSota, who used she/her pronouns, and in her writings said she is a transgender woman, condemned perceived enemies, including so-called rationalist groups, which operate mostly online and seek to understand human cognition through reason and knowledge.
Her lawyer, Daniel McGarrigle, declined to comment when asked whether she was connected to any of the deaths.
Before her weekend arrest, she missed court appearances in two states, and warrants were issued for her arrest.
