The recent homicide of U.S. Border Patrol agent David Maland near the Canadian border in January, along with five other killings across Vermont, Pennsylvania, and California, has been connected to a cult-like organization.

Interviews and social media content indicate that a group of young computer scientists, described by acquaintances as exceptionally intelligent, seem to be exhibiting increasingly aggressive behaviors.

Maland, aged 44, lost his life during a shootout on January 20 after a traffic stop in Coventry, Vermont, a town located approximately 20 miles (32 km) from the Canadian border. Teresa Youngblut, a 21-year-old from Washington state, faces two weapons charges related to this incident.

Youngblut was traveling with Felix Bauckholt, a German citizen also referred to as Ophelia in legal documents. Both individuals are linked to an online community known as the “Zizians,” named after a blogger who uses the alias “Ziz.” They had been under law enforcement surveillance after a hotel staff member reported seeing Youngblut with a firearm.

Bauckholt died in the related shootout, and authorities have not provided details regarding who fired the shots that resulted in the fatalities. Youngblut’s attorney stated their intention to refrain from public comments. On February 7, Youngblut entered a not guilty plea in federal court.

In November 2019, Jack LaSota, who identifies with she/her pronouns, along with Emma Borhanian, Gwen Danielson, and Alexander Leatham, were arrested at a protest in Northern California against a rationalist group’s event that they claimed was addressing sexual misconduct.

In 2022, landlord Curtis Lind initiated eviction proceedings against Borhanian, LaSota, Leatham, and other tenants who had failed to pay rent at a property in Vallejo, California. Just two days before the eviction deadline on November 15, prosecutors allege that Leatham, Borhanian, and Suri Dao assaulted him.

Lind defended himself with a firearm, resulting in Borhanian’s death and Leatham being injured. He also sustained serious injuries himself but survived. Prosecutors determined his actions constituted self-defense and subsequently charged Dao and Leatham with violent offenses.

On January 17, Lind, aged 82, was stabbed to death. Maximilian Snyder, 22, who had applied for a marriage license with Teresa Youngblut in November in Washington state, is now facing murder charges in this case.

On New Year’s Eve of 2022, Rita and Richard Zajko were found shot dead in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania.

Authorities questioned the couple’s daughter, Michelle, in Vermont and later detained her in a Pennsylvania hotel. She was not charged or arrested, while LaSota, present at the same hotel, was taken into custody for not cooperating with police and was subsequently charged with obstructing law enforcement and disorderly conduct.

Six months later, LaSota was released on bail but failed to appear at subsequent court dates. Her attorney, Daniel McGarrigle, stated last month that LaSota is “wholly and unequivocally innocent” of the charges against her.

As of recently, LaSota, 34, has not responded to numerous emails from the Associated Press and has missed court appearances in multiple states, leading to bench warrants being issued for her arrest.

Efforts to reach LaSota’s family have been met with silence, and her current whereabouts remain unclear. McGarrigle chose not to disclose any recent communication with his client.