7 Zizians Face Criminal Charges Across 3 States After Border Agent's Killing

The group, linked to several violent deaths, is awaiting trial on charges including possession of LSD, gun violations, and trespassing.

Published on Feb. 14, 2026

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A year after a U.S. border agent was killed, seven members of the group known as the Zizians are jailed in three states and awaiting trial on various criminal charges. The Zizians, described as young, highly intelligent computer scientists with radical beliefs, have been tied to several violent incidents across the country since 2022, including the death of one of their own, the killing of a landlord, the shooting deaths of a member's parents, and a highway shootout that left the border agent and another Zizian dead.

Why it matters

The Zizians' alleged crimes have raised concerns about the group's extremist ideology and the potential for further violence, as well as questions about the ability of law enforcement to effectively investigate and prosecute the interconnected cases across multiple jurisdictions.

The details

Police in Maryland quickly connected three Zizians - Jack 'Ziz' LaSota, Michelle Zajko, and Daniel Blank - to homicide investigations in California, Pennsylvania, and Vermont after finding them living in box trucks on a remote dirt road. The three are now charged with possession of LSD, gun violations, trespassing, and other offenses in Maryland, with their trial delayed due to Zajko firing her attorney and representing herself briefly. Zajko is also accused of supplying guns used in a fatal shootout in Vermont that killed a border agent, while two other Zizians are charged in a 2022 attack in California that left another member dead. Authorities have described LaSota as the apparent leader of the group.

  • On February 16, 2025, LaSota, Zajko, and Blank were arrested in Maryland.
  • In January 2025, the fatal shootout in Vermont occurred just hours after President Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term.
  • In December 2022, the shooting deaths of Zajko's parents, Richard and Rita Zajko, occurred in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania.

The players

Jack 'Ziz' LaSota

The apparent leader of the Zizians group, who is charged with being an armed fugitive in a separate federal case.

Michelle Zajko

A Zizian member who is charged with resisting arrest, lying to a Vermont gun dealer, and is a person of interest in the deaths of her adoptive parents in Pennsylvania.

Daniel Blank

A Zizian member who is charged alongside LaSota and Zajko in the Maryland case, with his lawyer seeking to distance him from the others.

Teresa Youngblut

A Zizian member accused of opening fire on a Border Patrol agent in Vermont, leading to a fatal shootout.

David Maland

The Border Patrol agent killed in the Vermont shootout with Youngblut.

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What they’re saying

“It is an act of obscene cruelty, despotism & the mark of a tyrannical regime to use a bad faith investigation & the threat of phony charges to conceal exculpatory evidence, threaten witnesses into silence, or threaten to put an innocent person to death, all to protect a murderous border patrol human.”

— Michelle Zajko (Court filing)

“In the interest of Hope, Justice and Truth, for the good of all people, and for the establishment of a true peace, the defense moves to dismiss this case.”

— Michelle Zajko (Court filing)

What’s next

The judge in Teresa Youngblut's Vermont case has suspended deadlines for pretrial motions, citing the complexity of the capital case and the need to review evidence related to investigations into other individuals in multiple jurisdictions.

The takeaway

The Zizians' alleged crimes and the resulting legal proceedings highlight the challenges law enforcement faces in investigating and prosecuting interconnected cases involving extremist groups with radical ideologies, as well as the need for greater coordination and information-sharing across jurisdictions.