A blogger identified as Ziz, who is believed to lead a cult-like group connected to six killings, was ordered to be held without bail by a Maryland court on Tuesday. Jack LaSota, 34, hailing from Berkeley, California, was apprehended on Sunday alongside Michelle Zajko, 32, from Media, Pennsylvania, and Daniel Blank, 26, from Sacramento, California. The charges they are facing include trespassing, obstructing justice, hindering law enforcement, and being in possession of a handgun in a vehicle.
The individuals associated with Ziz have been linked to the murder of US Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Canadian border in January, as well as five other killings spanning three different states. LaSota, Zajko, and Blank were arrested in Frostburg, Maryland, on Sunday afternoon.
During a court appearance, the judge decided to keep LaSota in custody without the possibility of bail due to concerns about her being a flight risk and a potential threat to public safety. Prosecutors have indicated that LaSota seems to be leading an extremist group known as Zizians, which has been tied to the aforementioned killings.
The trio was scheduled to attend a remote bail hearing on Tuesday at Allegany District Court in Cumberland, Maryland, according to court officials. The Zizians have been implicated in various incidents including the death of a woman during an attack on a California landlord in November 2022, the subsequent killing of the landlord in January, the deaths of Zajko’s parents in Pennsylvania in December 2022, and a recent shootout on a highway in Vermont resulting in the deaths of US Border Patrol Agent David Maland and a car passenger.
A resident of Frostburg alerted the police about three individuals he considered suspicious after they parked two box trucks on his property and requested to camp there for a month, as per police documents. The individuals were clad in black attire, two of them had gun belts with ammunition, and authorities discovered a rifle in one of the trucks and a handgun in the front of another. Zajko, who resisted arrest and was eventually restrained, was found to be carrying a handgun as well.
Maland, aged 44, lost his life in a shootout on January 20 following a traffic stop in Coventry, Vermont, whereas Felix Bauckholt, a passenger in the vehicle, also perished. The driver, Teresa Youngblut, has pleaded not guilty to federal firearms charges. Investigations have revealed that the firearms in their possession were purchased by a person of interest in the deaths of Richard and Rita Zajko on December 31, 2022, in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania. Youngblut was in close contact with another person of interest in a homicide case in Vallejo, California.
Although the specifics of the nationwide inquiry remain scarce, interviews with the Associated Press, along with a scrutiny of court records and
The cerebrum, as per LaSota, can house distinct values and genders that may “often desire to kill each other.” LaSota, who identified with she/her pronouns and openly disclosed her transgender identity in her literary works, vehemently opposed perceived adversaries, such as self-proclaimed rationalist factions primarily active in online spheres and dedicated to comprehending human cognition through logic and knowledge. Several groups within this sphere express apprehension concerning the potential hazards associated with artificial intelligence.
LaSota has been unresponsive to emails from the AP in recent weeks, while her legal representative, Daniel McGarrigle, has chosen not to disclose any information regarding her possible involvement in any of the reported fatalities. Currently, she is being sought for arrest in two states due to her failure to appear in court proceedings.
McGarrigle, as of Monday, merely verified his authorized representation of LaSota and refrained from confirming her detention or providing any specifics regarding the most recent legal matter. Attempts to contact legal counsel for Zajko and Blank proved unsuccessful.
According to Pennsylvania state police records, Daniel Blank is identified as Michelle Zajko’s housemate in Vermont. In January 2023, law enforcement officers investigating the homicide of Zajko’s parents apprehended both LaSota and Blank at a hotel where Zajko had been residing. Blank was not formally charged in connection with the incident, while LaSota faced charges of obstructing law enforcement and engaging in disorderly conduct.
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