(The Epoch Times)—Maryland State Police have arrested two individuals believed to be associated with a cultlike group known as the Zizians, according to a statement released Monday.
The primary suspect, Jack LaSota, 34, was taken into custody on Sunday along with Michelle Zajko, 33, a resident of Media, Pennsylvania. Both face multiple charges, including trespassing and possession of a firearm in a vehicle.
The arrests come amidst an ongoing multi-state investigation into a series of violent incidents linked to the Zizians. The group is suspected of being tied to six homicides across Vermont, Pennsylvania, and California, including the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.
The slain agent, identified as David Maland, 44, lost his life in a shooting following a routine traffic stop on Jan. 20 near the Canadian border in Coventry, Vermont, authorities stated.
According to Associated Press research, including interviews and examination of court documents and online posts, the Zizians appear to be a group primarily composed of young, highly educated computer scientists in their 20s and 30s. Group members, who reportedly met online, share anarchist ideologies and have allegedly become increasingly violent.
The group’s objectives remain unclear, but their online writings cover a wide range of topics, from radical veganism and gender identity to artificial intelligence.
LaSota, who uses she/her pronouns and identifies as a transgender woman, maintained a blog under the name Ziz, which is a nickname believed to belong to the leader of the group. In one section of the blog, LaSota described a theory that “the two hemispheres of the brain could hold separate values and genders and ‘often desire to kill each other.’”
The blog also contained criticism of what LaSota referred to as “rationalist groups,” which mostly consist of online communities focused on understanding human cognition through reason and knowledge. Some of these groups discuss concerns about potential dangers associated with artificial intelligence.
Prior to the recent arrest, LaSota had missed court appearances in two states, resulting in bench warrants.
Daniel McGarrigle, identified as LaSota’s attorney, declined to comment on any potential connection between his client and the reported deaths. Following the weekend arrest, McGarrigle would only confirm his previous representation of Lasota and refused to provide any details about the current case.
A bail hearing for LaSota and Zajko is scheduled for Tuesday at 11 a.m. in Allegany District Court, according to court records.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
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Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
