Jack LaSota, left, Michelle Zajko, top, and Daniel Blank, bottom, were arrested on Feb. 13 in Maralynd. They are linked to multiple murders across the country, including two in Delaware County. (Credit: Allegany County Sheriff's Department)
Teresa Youngblut, a woman charged in the death of a border patrol agent in Vermont, is expected in federal court on Tuesday, in one of many criminal cases linked to the cultlike group Zizians.
On Jan. 20, Youngblut fired the bullet that killed Agent David Maland after she was pulled over, officials have said. Another agent fired back, injuring Youngblut and killing her companion, Felix Bauckholt, during the shootout.
The Zizians are a group of primarily computer scientists who met online and share anarchist beliefs. They follow Jack LaSota, a computer scientist and transgender woman who has blogged as "Ziz" on various subjects including gender identity, artificial intelligence and human cognition.
The group, which Youngblut and Bauckholt were both affiliated with, has become increasingly violent. Authorities have linked the group to killings in Pennsylvania and California.
Prior to the arrest in Vermont, authorities had been monitoring Youngblut and Bauckholt for several days after the pair checked into a hotel dressed in black tactical gear and armed with firearms. Local border patrol had also been alerted that Bauckholt was a German national with unclear immigration status. Officials said Youngblut shot Maland during a traffic stop.
Youngblut pleaded not guilty to charges of intentionally using a deadly weapon towards law enforcement and using and discharging a firearm during an assault with a deadly weapon.
Tuesday’s federal court appearance will be in Burlington, in a discovery hearing where both sides exchange evidence and information before the official trial.
Both sides refused to comment before the hearing, Action News reported.
In addition to the Vermont shootout, members of the Zizians are also tied to the death of one of their own during an attack on California landlord Curtis Lind in November 2022, the subsequent killing of Lind in January, and the death of a Pennsylvanian couple, Richard and Rita Zajko, on New Years Eve that same year.
The Pennsylvania murders of Richard and Rita Zajko remain unsolved. Both were found dead inside their Chester Heights home in Delaware County, with gunshot wounds to the head. Their daughter Michelle Zajko’s driver's license was found at the residence. She was initially arrested and questioned, but later released.
On Feb. 16, LaSota, Zajko and Daniel Blank were arrested in Maryland on charges including trespassing, obstruction, and handgun possession in a vehicle. All three were ordered held without bail two days later. They all pleaded not guilty.
