Member of Zizian group says she did not kill her parents
The group has been linked to killings in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California. A cross-country investigation into LaSota and the Zizians broke open in January when one member of the group died and another was arrested after the shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland in Vermont.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Authorities say Zajko provided the gun that was used in the Vermont shooting, and in February, she, LaSota and another associate were arrested in Maryland and charged with trespassing, obstructing law enforcement and illegal gun possession after a man told police that three 'suspicious' people parked box trucks on his property and asked to camp there.
Advertisement
She also was questioned but not charged in connection with the deaths of her parents, Rita and Richard Zajko, who were shot and killed in their Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, home on New Year's Eve 2022. A few weeks later, LaSota was charged with disorderly conduct after refusing to cooperate with officers investigating the deaths, but Zajko said LaSota was just 'in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
Advertisement
'The police lied to her & told her that I had confessed (to something I didn't do),' she wrote.
'My friends and I are being described as like Satan's lapdogs, the devil & the Manson family all rolled into one,' she wrote. 'These papers are flagrantly lying. For instance, there were no truck-fulls of guns, no machine gun, & I didn't murder my parents.'
Members of the Zizian group also have been tied to the death of one of their own during an attack on a California landlord in November 2022 and the landlord's subsequent killing in January. Maximilian Snyder, who is charged with killing landlord Curtis Lind, had applied for a marriage license with Teresa Youngblut, who is accused of shooting at the Border Patrol agent in Vermont. But Zajko said Youngblut had fled from Snyder in November.
'The newspapers do not seem to realize that there are multiple groups, & that my friends & I are not with Snyder,' she wrote.
Youngblut is accused of firing at Maland during a traffic stop and has pleaded not guilty to federal firearms charges. Felix Bauckholt, a passenger in the car, also was killed in a shootout.
Bauckholt and LaSota were living together in North Carolina as recently as this winter, according to their landlord, who also was renting a duplex to Youngblut in the same neighborhood. Zajko's lawyer said Tuesday that Zajko also had been living in North Carolina before the group moved north to Frostburg, Maryland.
Advertisement
'The news media has utterly terrified this small town into thinking we were here to hurt them,' wrote Zajko, who said their only plans were 'eating (vegan) soft pretzels with guacamole, repairing a diesel heater, & camping.'
Zajko also alleges that LaSota and others were victims of a smear campaign led by people associated with rationalism, a movement that seeks to understand human cognition and address the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. 'Stalkers and abusers' within the community have tried to discredit Zizians for trying to expose sexual abuse within rationalist organizations, she said.
She described LaSota as an extraordinary friend who rescued her from an abusive relationship.
'Ziz is not my leader, and I am not her's. What we have is called friendship, and I love her infinitely more than I could ever express,' she wrote. 'She doesn't deserve her bad reputation. She deserves to be free.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Over 700 Iranian nationals released into US during Biden administration despite terrorism concerns
Over 1,500 Iranian nationals who illegally entered the U.S. at the southern border were arrested during the Biden administration, and nearly 50% of them were released back into the country, according to a senior U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source. More specifically, Border Patrol agents arrested 1,504 Iranian nationals from fiscal year 2021 through fiscal year 2024. Of the 1,504 individuals who were arrested, 729 were released into the U.S. The number of Iranian nationals arrested at the southern border increased year-to-year, with 48 being arrested in FY21; 197 in FY22; 462 in FY23 and 797 in FY24. Likewise, the number of Iranian nationals released also increased, with 12 in FY21; 40 in FY22; 229 in FY23; and 448 in FY24. Border Patrol Announces 'Phenomenal' Turnaround As Number Of Monthly Migrant Releases Drops To Zero It is unclear how many of the Iranians released into the U.S. were on the terrorism watchlist, as the Biden administration repeatedly denied Fox News' Freedom of Information Act requests and appeals for the data. The Biden administration cited "privacy concerns" of the people on the list, as well as "minimal public interest" for denying the requests. Read On The Fox News App Still, there were over 2 million known gotaways at the border during the Biden administration, and because they were never caught, there is no way of knowing where the individuals were from. All Iranians are considered "special interest aliens" because of national security concerns. Therefore, they are supposed to receive enhanced vetting from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Border Czar Tom Homan Reveals Unprecedented Success In Trump's Border Strategy The news comes as U.S. officials sound the alarm regarding the threat of terror-backed sleeper cells in the country just hours after President Donald Trump ordered the successful strikes on key nuclear facilities within Iran. Hours after Trump addressed the nation about the military strikes, the DHS issued a memo sounding the alarm to a "heightened threat environment" in the U.S. While the bulletin did not cite any specific threats, it came as Iranian officials vowed retaliation against the U.S. Southern Border Apprehensions Plunge More Than 90% From Year Ago In April, Cbp Says The bulletin points to law enforcement within the U.S. disrupting "multiple potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots" since 2020, while noting the Iranian government's unsuccessful attempts to target critics of its regime. The advisory comes after Trump ordered military strikes on Iran's key nuclear facilities in what officials are calling "Operation Midnight Hammer," prompting law enforcement to be on high alert regarding the threat of foreign adversary operatives conducting an attack on U.S. soil, with thousands of Iranian nationals previously crossing over the border. "Because of the open borders, we are at a serious catch-up phase," Former FBI assistant director Chris Swecker told Fox News Digital. "We don't know where those thousand Iranians are and who knows how many others got across the border. We missed an opportunity when they caught and released those thousand. We missed the opportunity to gather intel by interviewing them and thoroughly vetting them. We just simply let them go, which is gross negligence on the part of the Biden administration." The possibility of foreign cells carrying out a domestic terror plot was pushed into the national spotlight last year after federal prosecutors announced a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and two U.S.-nationals were arrested for allegedly plotting to murder then-President-elect Trump and a U.S. citizen critical of the Iranian regime. Fox News Digital's Julia Bonavita, Danielle Wallace and Ashley Papa contributed to this article source: Over 700 Iranian nationals released into US during Biden administration despite terrorism concerns
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Masked men in U.S. Border Patrol vests take Santa Ana father after repeatedly hitting him
In a graphic video that has since gone viral on social media, about seven or more masked men wearing U.S. Border Patrol vests are seen violently detaining a Santa Ana father before forcing him into the back of an unmarked car on Saturday. The violent incident sparked protests in the following hours, and an online fundraiser was started through GoFundMe, where family members identified the victim as Narciso Barranco, a father to three sons who are all U.S. Marines. One of his sons, 25-year-old Alejandro Barranco, told KTLA that his father was pepper-sprayed in addition to repeatedly being punched in the face during his detention. According to Alejandro, Narciso was picked up by alleged federal immigration officers while he was working as a landscaper at the IHOP on Edinger Avenue and Ritchey Street. Huntington Park mayor directs police to enforce ICE agents' self-identification The video shared by the Instagram account @SantaAnaProblems shows a group of men wearing hats and face coverings and police vests converge on Narciso, holding him down while one man repeatedly hits him on the head. Some men are standing guard around the scene before the group again seizes Narciso, with one man holding a baton at the back of Narciso's neck to push him into the backseat of a silver SUV. KTLA has reached out to city and state officials and is awaiting a response. A Santa Ana Police spokesperson said they are aware of the video circulating on social media, but had no further details. No local or federal officials have confirmed to KTLA whether the masked men were federal officers. 'He is a good, hard working man. He has raised his family here and has established himself here,' reads the GoFundMe page. 'Please help the Barranco family with whatever you can to ensure he is able to receive the proper legal counsel to represent him.' As of Saturday evening, Alejandro was working on getting in contact with his father. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
Leader of cult-like group linked to killing border agent in Vermont faces federal charges
The charge stems from LaSota's arrest in February in Frostburg, Md., after a property owner complained to police that she and two associates had parked a pair box trucks on his land and refused to leave. Police also arrested the two associates, Related : No attorney was listed for LaSota in federal court documents and a date hasn't been set for her first appearance in federal court. LaSota and her followers, known as Zizians, came to prominence in January after the killing of a Advertisement In that incident, authorities allege Teresa Youngblut shot and killed agent David Maland, using a firearm provided to her by Zajko, who had previously lived in Vermont. Border Patrol Agent David Maland was shot and killed in Vermont on Jan. 20. BPA Edward Butron/Associated Press Youngblut is being prosecuted in federal court in Vermont where she is accused of intentionally using a deadly weapon towards federal law enforcement, and using and discharging a firearm during an assault with a deadly weapon. She has pleaded not guilty. Felix Bauckholt, a companion who was driving through Vermont with Youngblut, was killed when another agent fired back during the confrontation. Related : Advertisement The federal indictment against LaSota alleges that she had a black scoped .50 caliber rifle, a black handgun, and more than 450 rounds of ammunition when At the time, LaSota was a fugitive from justice, having skipped court dates in Pennsylvania where she was accused of obstructing investigators looking into the killings of her associate The couple, Richard and Rita Zajko, were fatally shot in their home in Chester Heights, Penn., on New Year's Eve in 2022. No one has been charged in the killing of Zajko's parents, and Zajko has denied she was involved. Related : Prosecutors allege LaSota knew he was a fugitive from justice and therefore couldn't legally possess firearms or ammunition. If convicted, LaSota faces up to 15 years in prison, according to the Maryland United States Attorney's Office. LaSota, Zajko, and Blank also face firearms charges in state court in Maryland, records show. Related : Another Zizian follower, Snyder and Youngblut grew up in Washington state, and applied for a marriage license there last year. Advertisement Laura Crimaldi can be reached at
