Zizians linked to four murders in three states, January 2025

[Parsnip]

The ‘murder gang’ of computer whizzkids linked to two killings 3,000 miles apart

Investigators are exploring whether two apparently unrelated murders could be linked, by way of an alleged cult made up of highly educated computer scientists with an interest in animal rights, Andrea Cavallier reports

www.the-independent.com

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69573795/united-states-v-youngblut/

While we have cases here for the Zajko murders and the Maland murder, I started this thread with the purpose of discussing the Zizians more generally.

 

[Parsnip]

California "death cult" linked to two murders

The suspects charged in connection with two killings have been linked to a fringe group known as the "Zizians."

www.newsweek.com

 

[Parsnip]

Who are the ‘Zizians’? Recent deaths linked to Bay Area ‘cult’

(KRON) — A spree of killings across the country, including one in Vallejo, have been linked to a radical online community called the “Zizians.” Not much is known about the Zizians, but a non-verified online webpage dedicated to preventing people from joining the group calls it “a peculiar online...

www.yahoo.com

 

[Parsnip]

‘Transfeminine’ Border Patrol shooting suspect had ties to fringe group, friend says - Newport Dispatch

NEWPORT –– A friend of Felix Bauckholt, who died in a shootout with U.S. Border Patrol agents in Coventry last week, reveals the German national had become increasingly secretive months before the fatal encounter that also claimed the life of Agent David C. Maland. In an interview with Newport...

www.newportdispatch.com

 

[Parsnip]

…
Jack LaSota is currently facing charges of obstructing law enforcement and disorderly conduct in Pennsylvania. Authorities won’t say whether those charges are related to the Zajko deaths, but court records show that police were searching for a gun used in two killings when they arrested LaSota 12 days later at a hotel about 10 miles from the scene of the killings.

LaSota also has connections to some of the key players in the California case.
…

Woman charged in Border Patrol agent's death in Vermont ordered held without bail

Teresa Youngblut was ordered held without bail in connection with the death of U.S. Border Patrol agent David Maland in a case that has grown to encompass killings in multiple states.

www.wmur.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Taylor said the group believes in timeless decision theory, a Rationalist belief suggesting that human decisions and their effects are mathematically quantifiable.

The Zizians also apparently believe that because there are two hemispheres in the brain, individuals can split their consciousness between two personalities by waking one side at a time, Taylor said. She said veganism and animal rights are also central to the ideology. A bio for an Instagram account that appears to belong to Youngblut reads, “talk to me about being vegan and ai alignment.”

Meanwhile, the people who lived on Lind’s property were said to have ties to the Zizian movement through the movement’s founder, “Ziz,” whose legal name is Jack LaSota

Suspects in Recent Murders Are Two Young Computer Nerds That Reportedly Have Ties to a Techno-Cult

What exactly is a Zizian?

gizmodo.com

LaSota seems to have followed the standard cult playbook, encouraging followers to enter sleep deprivation, distance themselves from family and friends, and craft cult identities. The cult’s beliefs were chronicled on LaSota’s blog (archived here) and appear to divide all people into “non-good,” “single-good,” and the rare “double-good” categories. LaSota is (naturally for a cult leader) double-good and told the followers that non-good people who eat meat must be punished.

'Vegan Sith': A murderous cult of tech geniuses may have already killed 4 people and their sinister leader remains at large

A Manson family for the tech age?

wegotthiscovered.com

 

[Parsnip]

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newsminer/name/jack-lasota-obituary?id=36432272

JAL’s obituary. His death was confirmed by his PA attorney and his mother. He was subsequently found alive per the Vallejo police.

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2025-01-30/prosecutors-are-seeking-to-detain-the-woman-charged-in-a-vermont-border-patrol-officers-death

 

[kuromiiiilove]

I am asking a genuine question and if it is not appropriate I will remove it.

I’ve been reading about the Rationalism movement and its offshoots, and specifically what the Zizians believe. While the Zizian beliefs seems nonsensical, they make ‘sense’ inside their framework, such as reducing harm to all beings by not eating animals.

One thing I am curious about it that most of the folks in the Zizian cult appear to be transgender (Not ‘appearance’ like physical looks, but based on their statements post-protest arrest and various blogs written by the group members). Specifically male to female.

Is there a benefit in Zizian theory or even greater Rationalist theory that it is better for a man to become a woman? Or is this just a coincidence? MOO

 

[Parsnip]

…
Curtis Lind, 82, was killed just before he could testify in a violent 2022 attack during which he was impaled with a sword and blinded in one eye. According to SFist, Bournhanian and two others were armed with the “intent to dismember Lind and dissolve the body in a vat of acid, which they had apparently already prepared.
…

MSN

 

[Parsnip]

All about the Center for Applied Rationality protest in 2019:

Four People In Guy Fawkes Masks Arrested After Scaring Families At West Sonoma Self-Help Retreat

Four freaky souls with an apparent vendetta against the Berkeley-based Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR) donned Guy Fawkes masks and hooded robes as they blockaded the entrance to a Sonoma retreat venue the group was using for an alumni weekend on Friday.

sfist.com

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Meanwhile, the people who lived on Lind’s property were said to have ties to the Zizian movement through the movement’s founder, “Ziz,” whose legal name is Jack LaSota

Suspects in Recent Murders Are Two Young Computer Nerds That Reportedly Have Ties to a Techno-Cult

What exactly is a Zizian?

gizmodo.com

LaSota seems to have followed the standard cult playbook, encouraging followers to enter sleep deprivation, distance themselves from family and friends, and craft cult identities. The cult’s beliefs were chronicled on LaSota’s blog (archived here) and appear to divide all people into “non-good,” “single-good,” and the rare “double-good” categories. LaSota is (naturally for a cult leader) double-good and told the followers that non-good people who eat meat must be punished.

'Vegan Sith': A murderous cult of tech geniuses may have already killed 4 people and their sinister leader remains at large

A Manson family for the tech age?

wegotthiscovered.com

So creepy....

 

[bettyboop]

Thank You, @Parsnip, for the thread. Living under a rock, as I do, I was unaware of the Rationalist movement , the Zizians, and the connection to these murders.
I am now going to collect more rocks, and make a massive rock hideout, and I'm not telling you where. JMO MOO

 

[Lalalacasbah]

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newsminer/name/jack-lasota-obituary?id=36432272

JAL’s obituary. His death was confirmed by his PA attorney and his mother. He was subsequently found alive per the Vallejo police.

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2025-01-30/prosecutors-are-seeking-to-detain-the-woman-charged-in-a-vermont-border-patrol-officers-death

Wait what? I'm so confused. Is he alive or not? Are his lawyer and mother faking his death so LE will stop looking for him?

 

[Lalalacasbah]

I am asking a genuine question and if it is not appropriate I will remove it.

I’ve been reading about the Rationalism movement and its offshoots, and specifically what the Zizians believe. While the Zizian beliefs seems nonsensical, they make ‘sense’ inside their framework, such as reducing harm to all beings by not eating animals.

One thing I am curious about it that most of the folks in the Zizian cult appear to be transgender (Not ‘appearance’ like physical looks, but based on their statements post-protest arrest and various blogs written by the group members). Specifically male to female.

Is there a benefit in Zizian theory or even greater Rationalist theory that it is better for a man to become a woman? Or is this just a coincidence? MOO

I will be asking lots of questions too! You are not alone This is batshite crazy and really hope LE is investigating.

 

[Parsnip]

One thing I am curious about it that most of the folks in the Zizian cult appear to be transgender

From what I gather, there’s a notion that because there are two hemispheres in our brains, there are also two personalities, one of which is more feminine and one of which is more masculine. One can be more dominant than the other, and apparently, they can be trained to sleep independently of each other. Moo.

Sleeping with Half a Brain

Animals are not the only creatures who can be literally half asleep. Research shows we experience this, too

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[fried clams]

All about the Center for Applied Rationality protest in 2019:

Four People In Guy Fawkes Masks Arrested After Scaring Families At West Sonoma Self-Help Retreat

Four freaky souls with an apparent vendetta against the Berkeley-based Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR) donned Guy Fawkes masks and hooded robes as they blockaded the entrance to a Sonoma retreat venue the group was using for an alumni weekend on Friday.

sfist.com

Mugshots from the protest arrests courtesy of the linked (within SFist article) SFChron article. Top to bottom they are Jack Lasota (Ziz), Emma (Amir) Borhanian, Gwen Danielson, Alexander Leatham. Jack's whereabouts are currently unknown, Emma was the 2022 Vallejo stabbing attacker who was shot dead by the victim, Alexander was one of the two 2022 Vallejo stabbing attackers who is imprisoned and charged with murder. Can't find anything on Gwen Danielson.

 

[fried clams]

Wait what? I'm so confused. Is he alive or not? Are his lawyer and mother faking his death so LE will stop looking for him?

His "obituary" published 9/7/22

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newsminer/name/jack-lasota-obituary?id=36432272

His custody record on Vinelink showing book date of 1/13/23

VINELink

vinelink.vineapps.com

 

[kuromiiiilove]

From what I gather, there’s a notion that because there are two hemispheres in our brains, there are also two personalities, one of which is more feminine and one of which is more masculine. One can be more dominant than the other, and apparently, they can be trained to sleep independently of each other. Moo.

Sleeping with Half a Brain

Animals are not the only creatures who can be literally half asleep. Research shows we experience this, too

www.scientificamerican.com

That is very interesting! I did read about the hemisphere thing and that the Zizians encouraged each other to let the other half take over. I didn’t put 2 and 2 together at the time, but you have a very good theory!

 

[Lalalacasbah]

I hate that these creeps are getting articles written about the whole Zizian thing and feel it might add fuel to their fire as they may like the attention!

Or could do the opposite and make them paranoid now with their faces more out there. Getting them more paranoid isn't good either as could escalate to more crimes

 

[Parsnip]

Links to Danielson et al v Sonoma County et al civil matter. The plaintiffs are the zizians from the CARD protest. The case was dismissed because the plaintiffs stopped showing up.

Danielson et al v. Sonoma County et al (3:21-cv-08854), California Northern District Court

Danielson et al v. Sonoma County et al (3:21-cv-08854), California Northern District Court, Filed: 11/15/2021

www.pacermonitor.com

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61432586/danielson-v-sonoma-county/