How a Vermont border agent’s death exposed violence linked to the cultlike Zizian group | Global News Avenue

In the wooded suburbs of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a Confused landlord Noting strange sights of his two rental properties.

Tenant wears long black coats and parked box trucks outside duplex. They transported a wire from a box of trucks to one of the apartments and placed stretchers in the other.

A neighbor remembers walking around holding hands at night. They never spoke.

One of the most recent tenants had been killed when the FBI searched the property last week Gunfight with the US Border Patrol In Vermont, a second arrest. The third dark figure known as “Ziz” was called “Ziz” after authorities linked their cult group to six deaths in three states.

The officials provided very little details Off-road surveyruptured after the shooting on January 20 Death of the Border Patrol During a traffic stop in Vermont. The Associated Press interviews and review of court records and online releases tell the story of a group of young, highly intelligent computer scientists, most of whom were in their 20s and 30s, met online, shared anarchist beliefs and changed. Becoming more and more violent.

Their goals are not clear, but the online book covers topics ranging from radical vegetarianism and gender identity to artificial intelligence.

In the middle of all this is “Ziz”, who seems to be the leader of a strange group, who calls himself “Zizians”. She saw her near multiple crime scenes and had contact with various suspects.

She was even pronounced dead before reappearing in more violence.

Who is ziz?

Jack Lasota received a computer science degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2013, according to recruitment profiles for recruiters, coders and other freelancers, and received a degree in computer science from NASA in 2013 and a degree in computer science from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. ) awarded a computer science degree and moved to the San Francisco Bay area at NASA. NASA officials did not respond to requests to confirm the Lasota internship, but listed the websites about past interns.

In 2016, she began publishing a dark and careless blog under Ziz, describing her theory that two hemispheres of the brain can have separate values ​​and genders and “often desire to kill each other.”

Lasota uses her/her pronoun, saying in her writing that she is a trans woman. She opposes perceived enemies, including so-called rationalist groups, which operate primarily online and attempt to understand human cognition through reason and knowledge. Some people are concerned about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.

AI researcher Jessica Taylor said Losta began to promote an extreme combination of rationalism, moral vegan, anarchism and other value systems.

When Lasota abandoned rationalists, she brought a group of “extremely fragile and isolated” followers, Anna Salamon, executive director of the Center for Applied Rationality, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Taylor said Ziz’s followers used rationalist ideology as a reason for committing violence. “Things like avoiding paying rent and defending yourself from being evict are justified,” she said.

Lasota’s beliefs and writings may make readers feel visible, which is often a central factor in the formation of groups that are often labeled as cults, said Poulomi Saha, a professor who has studied cults. This is especially true in the age of online communities where marginal people are more likely to seek believers.

“There may be a double experience for those who are praised by that blog post,” said Sach, co-director of the critical theory program at the University of California, Berkeley. “They feel like,’I’ve been saying this, Or have been thinking about this question and no one believes me. ‘”

Lasota, 34, has not responded to multiple Associated Press emails in recent weeks, Attorney Daniel McGarrigle Refuse to comment when asked if it is associated with any death. She missed a court appearance in two states and issued a substitute order for her arrest. The Associated Press reporter has left many phone calls and emails with Lansota’s family, but has not received any response.

Ziz and Followers with the First Run with Law

In November 2019, Lasota was arrested along with several others during a protest outside the Northern California Retreat Center, where the Center for Applied Rationality is holding an event. Sheriff’s representatives summoned a SWAT team and armored vehicles after the masked team blocked the exit of the property and sent the Fliers to the rational organization railing. The group said they are protesting sexual misconduct within rationalist organizations.

The case against Lasota, Emma Borhanian, 31, Gwen Danielson and Alexander Leatham, 29 In August 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard responded to a report that Lasota had fallen from a ship in the San Francisco Bay. Her body was not found, but her mother confirmed death and Itu发 Published.

Soon after, Ziz surfaced again.

Landlord attacked in California

By fall 2022, Lasota moved into vans and trucks with other group members including Borhanian and Leatham, which are on Vallejo-owned property, about 30 north of San Francisco. Mile.

“Emma’s van is great,” said someone who knows the Bauhanians. “It has a refrigerator, a refrigerator and a microwave. It’s really a work of art.”

A person who did not want to be named for her concern for her safety, said Borhanian was a kind and caring young woman so smart that she worked at Google during college. Google did not respond to inquiries about Borhanian working there.

Prosecutors said she was the person who attacked Lind on November 13 when he tried to evict the group without paying rent.

A sword pierced, partially blinded, Lind countered and shot Borhanian fatally. Lind is concluded in self-defense action, with officials accusing Leatham and 23-year-old Suri Dao in the death of Borhanian and murdering Lind ( Lind).

An Associated Press reporter contacted Alex Leatham’s father’s phone number declined to comment. The family members who tried to connect with DAO were unsuccessful.

Police believe the plaster field is at the crime scene, but she is not arrested.

An elderly couple killed in Pennsylvania

On New Year’s Eve 2022 A couple was shot At their home in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania.

Doorbell camera captures audio and car video Richard Zajko71 years old, his wife Rita, 69 years old. The voice shouted “Mom!” Another voice shouted, “Oh my god! Oh God, God!” according to the Pennsylvania Police Affidavit. Police found the couple shot in the head in the upstairs bedroom after failing to show up to take care of Rita’s mother.

Police asked the couple’s daughter Michelle at her Vermont home and she detained her in a Pennsylvania hotel a few weeks later. She was not arrested or charged with anything. Lasota was also in the hotel and was arrested for refusing to work with officials and charged with obstructing law enforcement and misconduct.

Six months later, Rasota was released on bail but stopped appearing in court.

Lasota’s attorney Daniel McGarrigle said last month his client was “completely innocent of the allegations brought under this situation.”

California landlord found dead

Meanwhile, the case concerning California landlords is under trial. The 82-year-old landlord was the only witness and the prosecutor wanted to make a lawsuit quickly.

But on January 17, Linde’s throat was cut and he died, not far from where he survived the early attack.

Maximilian Snyder, 22, was charged with murder and appeared in court on February 6, only long enough to demand a new lawyer. It is unclear how he was identified as the suspect; he has a connection with a woman who will be involved in the gunfight in a few days.

Snyder is listed as a detention center for Solano County Jail, California. Attempting to reach Snyder’s family was unsuccessful.

Border Patrol Agent Dies in Vermont Shooting

exist. On January 20, in Vermont, U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped a vehicle carrying two people connected to the Ziz Group. A hotel worker called the authorities after using a gun to meet one of the Teresa Youngblut.

On January 20, Youngblut was driving while driving, and authorities said she quickly opened fire at the officers. Passenger Felix Bauckholt, a German national, was also listed as Ophelia in court documents and died along with Border Patrol agent David Maland.

Youngblut was injured and arrested and pleaded not guilty to the gun charge.

The FBI said authorities searching for the car found ballistic helmets, night vision goggles, respirators and ammunition. They also found two-way radios and used shooting range targets.

Youngblut applied for a marriage certificate with Snyder, the man accused of murdering the elderly landlord. He was a childhood friend. It is not clear whether they are married. Authorities say The gun she carries It was purchased by Zajko Killing interested.

The last time I saw Ziz

Youngblut and Bauckholt used to live in two North Carolina apartments, and the landlord and neighbors now say they have seen strange behavior.

The landlord reviewed the 2019 police booking photos of Lasota, saying Lasota has also been living there this winter. He spoke to the Associated Press on anonymity because he was worried about his safety.

Similar concerns were expressed until September 2023, when a neighbor who lived on the other side of the duplex in Bauckholt recalled the three wearing long black robes and tactical clothes.

“They rarely come out during the day, but they walk around the neighbors and the woods at night,” the former neighbor said. He also only spoke anonymously because they were worried about their safety. “Sometimes, all three of them would take a walk and they all held their hands. They seemed to care for each other.”