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Jack Lasota, 34, was arrested Sunday along with Michelle Zajko,
33, of Media, Pennsylvania. They face multiple charges including
trespassing, obstructing and hindering and possession of a
handgun in the vehicle.
A bail hearing for the the two is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday
at Allegany District Court.
The Zizians have been tied to the killing of U.S. Border Patrol
Agent David Maland near the Canadian border in January and five
other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California.
Maland, 44, was killed in a Jan. 20 shootout following a traffic
stop in Coventry, Vermont, a small town about 20 miles (32
kilometers) from the Canadian border.
Officials have offered few details of the cross-country
investigation, which broke open after the Jan. 20 shooting death
of Maland. Associated Press interviews and a review of court
records and online postings tell the story of how a group of
young, highly intelligent computer scientists, most of them in
their 20s and 30s, met online, shared anarchist beliefs, and
became increasingly violent.
Their goals aren’t clear, but online writings span topics from
radical veganism and gender identity to artificial intelligence.
At the middle of it all is “Ziz,” who appears to be the leader
of the strange group members who called themselves “Zizians.”
She has been seen near multiple crime scenes and has connections
to various suspects.
LaSota published a dark and sometimes violent blog under the
name Ziz and, in one section, described her theory that the two
hemispheres of the brain could hold separate values and genders
and “often desire to kill each other.”
LaSota, who used she/her pronouns, and in her writings says she
is a transgender woman, railed against perceived enemies,
including so-called rationalist groups, which operate mostly
online and seek to understand human cognition through reason and
knowledge. Some are concerned with the potential dangers of
artificial intelligence.
LaSota, 34, has not responded to multiple Associated Press
emails in recent weeks, and her attorney Daniel McGarrigle
declined to comment when asked whether she is connected to any
of the deaths. Before her weekend arrest, she missed court
appearances in two states, and bench warrants have been issued
for her arrest.
Reached on Monday, McGarrigle would only confirm that he has
represented LaSota and wouldn't confirm her arrest or any
details of the latest case.
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