The alleged leader of the Zizians, Jack LaSota, already jailed in Maryland on state misdemeanor drug and gun charges, has now been indicted on a federal felony firearms offense.
The Zizians have been connected to a cross-country string of homicides, including the fatal shooting earlier this year of a border patrol agent in northern Vermont.
A federal grand jury in Maryland this week indicted LaSota, 34, of Fairbanks, Alaska, also known as Andrea Phelps, Ann Grimes, Anne Grimes, Canaris, Julia LaSota and Ziz, on a charge of being a fugitive from justice in possession of firearms and ammunition.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 15 years, if the accused is convicted.
Prosecutors alleged in court records that LaSota possessed several firearms in February, including a .50-caliber rifle, a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. At the time, according to court records, LaSota was a fugitive from justice and as a result was not permitted to possess a firearm or ammunition.
The federal charge against LaSota stems from his arrest Feb. 16 in Frostburg, Maryland, along with companions Daniel Blank and Michelle Zajko.
All three pleaded not guilty earlier this month to multiple state charges, including trespassing, obstructing arrest and possession of firearms. A Maryland state court ordered them held in custody while those state cases remain pending.
Zajko has also been charged with federal firearms offenses in Vermont. No court appearance has been set in that case.
Federal prosecutors in Vermont alleged that Zajko bought the weapons that were in the possession of Teresa Youngblut and Felix Bauckholt, also known as Ophelia, earlier this year.
Youngblut and Bauckholt were stopped in January by federal agents on Interstate 91 in a traffic stop that led to a shootout that left Bauckholt and Border Patrol Agent David “Chris” Maland dead.
Youngblut has been charged in Vermont with federal firearms and assault charges in connection with that shootout. Youngblut has pleaded not guilty to the offenses and a hearing in that case is set for next week in federal court in Burlington.
LaSota, Blank, Youngblut, Bauckholt and Zajko all allegedly had ties to the Zizians, a loosely connected group of people and offshoot of the Rationalist movement.
Another person linked to the Zizian group, Maximilian Snyder, was arrested in the Jan. 17 murder of a Vallejo, California, landlord. Snyder and Youngblut had previously applied for a marriage certificate in Washington state.
Zajko’s parents were fatally shot in their Pennsylvania home on New Year’s Eve in 2022, according to police, and Zajko was questioned in their deaths in January 2023. In a letter to the media earlier this year, Zajko denied involvement in the fatal shootings, writing, “I didn’t murder my parents.”
LaSota, the namesake of the Zizian group, had been charged in 2023 in Pennsylvania with disorderly conduct and obstruction in connection with the probe into the death of Zajko’s parents, according to court records. LaSota did not show up for later court hearings after posting bail and being released, according to court documents.
It’s not clear from the federal indictment handed down this week if the charge of being a fugitive from justice in possession of firearms and ammunition stems from LaSota not appearing for hearings in the Pennsylvania case.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland could not be reached Friday for comment. No attorney was listed for LaSota in the court filings and his lawyer in the state court case could not be reached Friday for comment.
