Transgender Cult Leader ‘Ziz’ Has Yet to Appear in Court
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It’s been five months since the reputed leader of a fringe group linked to the murder of a Border Patrol agent in Vermont was indicted by a federal grand jury, but Jack “Ziz” LaSota has still not appeared before a judge.
LaSota, identified as the leader of an online transgender-vegan-AI-doomsday cult known as the Zizians, was indicted in June on one count of possession of firearms and ammunition by a fugitive. Since then, LaSota has not been arraigned or made any court appearance, according to defense attorney Gary Proctor. He said the only development in the case has been his appointment to represent LaSota in August.
“Since then, nothing has happened. Ms. LaSota has not had an initial appearance. This is despite the fact that the government has, at all times, known where to find Ms. LaSota. She has been, and continues to be, incarcerated at the Allegany County Detention Center,” Proctor wrote.
LaSota, a biological male, identifies as female. The government brought the indictment under LaSota’s birth name, Jack LaSota, and not one of the defendant’s female aliases.
LaSota was arrested in Maryland in February along with Zizians Michelle Zajko and Daniel Blank following a nationwide manhunt. LaSota is considered a person of interest in the 2023 murders of Zajko’s parents, Richard and Rita Zajko.
Zajko is facing her own federal gun charges for allegedly buying the firearms used by Zizians Teresa Youngblut and Felix “Ophelia” Bauckholt during a shootout with U.S. Border Patrol Agent David “Chris” Maland, 44. Bauckholt and Maland were killed in the exchange. Youngblut now faces the death penalty.
The shootout occurred near the Vermont border in the Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector, which includes all of New Hampshire’s boundary with Canada.
Proctor filed a motion Wednesday demanding a speedy trial, arguing that the government is violating LaSota’s constitutional rights by allowing the case to stagnate. Under the Sixth Amendment and federal law, a defendant is entitled to a trial within 70 days of indictment. Proctor said he has not even received the evidence the government is using to support the charge.
“The government is, in effect, thwarting this right. Had Ms. LaSota promptly appeared before this court, the 70 days mandated by the Speedy Trial Act would have already long since passed,” he wrote. “Over the past five months government counsel have done nothing to ensure that Ms. LaSota appears before a judicial officer. The undersigned has received no discovery. The undersigned called one of the government’s counsel on Oct. 31, 2025, asking to discuss the case; almost two weeks later, no return call has been made.”
Proctor also criticized prosecutors for using LaSota’s “deadname” and male pronouns.
“The government also doubles down on offensively labeling Ms. LaSota by using male pronouns such as ‘he was a fugitive from justice.’ It is well known, and widely reported, that Ms. LaSota is transgender,” he wrote.
LaSota’s cult was born out of an online discussion about a Harry Potter fan-fiction book exploring rationalist philosophy and artificial intelligence. LaSota turned a circle of tech acquaintances into a militant vegan-rationalist-transgender-techno group that believes a super-powerful artificial intelligence known as the Basilisk is coming into existence to punish those who do not help create it.
Followers were subjected to sleep deprivation in an effort to “unlock” a separate personality, often a different gender identity under LaSota’s direction. At least one suicide has been linked to the practices.
LaSota faked a death in 2022, reportedly staging a boating accident in the waters between Alameda and South San Francisco.
Federal Judge James Bredar granted Proctor’s motion for a speedy trial and ordered the government to respond by Nov. 19.
Content retrieved from: https://nhjournal.com/transgender-cult-leader-ziz-has-yet-to-appear-in-court/.
