A large-scale law enforcement operation has led to the arrest of three individuals suspected of being part of an anarchist sect connected to a series of murders, including the killing of U.S. Border Patrol agent David Maland.
The suspects—Jack Lasota, 34, from Berkeley, California; Michelle Zajko, 32, from Media, Pennsylvania; and Daniel Blank, 26, from Sacramento, California—were taken into custody Sunday afternoon in Frostburg, about 150 miles west of Baltimore.
The charges against them include property crimes, obstruction of justice, possession of firearms in a vehicle, and other offenses tied to murders across several U.S. states. Among the most significant is the killing of 44-year-old Border Patrol agent David Maland, who was shot dead on January 20 in a firefight in Coventry, Vermont, near the Canadian border.
The three arrested individuals have since been transferred to the Allegany County Detention Center, where they are currently held. The Maryland State Police stated that they are working closely with federal law enforcement agencies and the Allegany County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The arrests are linked to an investigation that began after Maland’s death but have since expanded to encompass a broader network of murders spanning Vermont, Pennsylvania, and California. Initial investigations suggest Lasota, Zajko, and Blank are affiliated with an online group known as the “Zizians.”
The Zizians—described as “young computer scientists” primarily in their twenties and thirties—have reportedly coalesced around a radical anarchist movement with extreme, at times antisocial, political views. These include opposition to vivisection, debates on gender identity, and hostility toward artificial intelligence.
The self-styled leader of the group, known as “Ziz,” is believed to be Jack Lasota, who maintains a blog where he has expressed controversial theories about brain function. For example, he allegedly claimed that the two hemispheres of the brain have separate and conflicting sexual values and identities. Lasota, who identifies as a transgender woman and uses the pronouns “she/her,” has repeatedly criticized intellectual groups focused on rationalism, accusing them of stifling his more radical views.
According to Pennsylvania police records, Blank and Zajko had previously attracted attention from authorities over an earlier incident. In January 2023, they were detained in a Vermont hotel during investigations into the murder of Zajko’s parents. Blank was not charged, while Lasota was arrested for resisting arrest and disturbing the peace, though neither charge resulted in a conviction.
