By Michael Casey, Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) – The leader of a cult group known as the Ziziens was arrested in Maryland with another member of the group, the police of the Maryland state announced on Monday.
Jack Lasota, 34, was arrested on Sunday with Michelle Zajko, 33, from Media, Pennsylvania. They face several accusations, including intrusion, obstruction and hindering and possession of a handgun in the vehicle.
A release hearing on bond for both is scheduled for Tuesday at 11 a.m. on Tuesday at the District Tribunal of Algany.
The Ziziens were linked to the murder of American border patrol David Maland near the Canadian border in January and five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California.
Maland, 44, was killed during a shooting on January 20 after a traffic stop in Coventry, Vermont, a small town about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Canadian border.
Lasota published a dark and sometimes violent blog under the name of Ziz and, in a section, described his theory according to which the two hemispheres of the brain could contain distinct values and sexes and “often wish to kill themselves”.
Lasota, who used her pronouns, and in her writings, says that she is a transgender woman, has changed the enemies perceived, including so -called rationalist groups, which operate mainly online and seek to understand human cognition by reason and knowledge. Some are interested in the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
