Maryland State Police arrested Jack Lasota, the alleged central figure in a group known as the Zizians, along with Michelle Zajko of Media, Pennsylvania, according to reporting attributed to Maryland State Police and the Associated Press.
Lasota, 34, and Zajko, 33, were arrested Sunday in Maryland. Authorities said they face charges including trespassing, obstructing and hindering, and possession of a handgun in a vehicle. A bail hearing was scheduled for Tuesday at Allegany District Court.
A wider investigation after a Border Patrol agent’s death
The arrests come amid scrutiny of the Zizians, a small, extremist and cult-like group that has been tied in reporting to the January killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Canadian border, as well as five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania, and California.
Maland, 44, was killed Jan. 20 during a shootout after a traffic stop in Coventry, Vermont, about 20 miles from the Canadian border. Officials have released limited details about the broader cross-country investigation.
The Associated Press reported that interviews, court records, and online posts describe a group of young computer scientists who met online, shared anarchist beliefs, and became increasingly violent. Their goals remain unclear, according to the AP, though online writings attributed to group members range across radical veganism, gender identity, and artificial intelligence.
Who is ‘Ziz’?
Lasota has been described in reporting as the figure known as “Ziz,” whose name appears connected to the group’s nickname. According to the AP, Lasota published a dark blog under that name and wrote about a theory involving the brain’s hemispheres holding separate values and genders that “often desire to kill each other.”
The AP reported that Lasota used she/her pronouns and described herself in writings as a transgender woman. Conservative journalist Andy Ngo has used the label “Trantifa” for the group, a term combining “transgender” and “Antifa.” That label is Ngo’s characterization, not an official designation cited in the source material.
Lasota’s writings also criticized perceived enemies, including online rationalist communities focused on reason, cognition, and, in some cases, the risks of artificial intelligence, according to the AP.
Attorney gives limited response
Before the Maryland arrest, Lasota had missed court appearances in two states, leading to bench warrants, according to the source report.
Lasota did not respond to multiple Associated Press emails in recent weeks. Her attorney, Daniel McGarrigle, declined to comment when asked whether Lasota was connected to any of the deaths. Reached Monday, McGarrigle would only confirm that he had represented Lasota and would not confirm the arrest or details of the latest case.
The case remains developing, and the available source material does not state that Lasota or Zajko has been convicted of any crime related to the reported killings.
