Andy Ngo's new book, *The Zizians: Inside a Trans Death Cult*, is out. It's the story of a trans cult linked to eight violent deaths, including a U.S. Border Patrol agent and an 82-year-old murder witness. Ngo drew on court records, witnesses and family members.
A trans cult
The cult is named after its leader, Jack LaSota, a man who calls himself "Ziz" and identifies as a woman. The New York Times reported that his followers were "predominantly transgender or nonbinary." A staffer at a Bay Area group LaSota once orbited told the San Francisco Chronicle that LaSota went after "smart, mostly autistic-ish trans women who were extremely vulnerable and isolated."
LaSota taught that each half of the brain has its own gender and can be "good" or "evil." He wrote that men who identify as women are uniquely suited to save the world from artificial intelligence. Followers practised a sleep-deprivation routine meant to "jailbreak" the mind. In 2022, LaSota faked his own death in a boating accident, then turned up months later in a Philadelphia hotel room during a police search tied to a double murder.
Members now face murder charges in three states.
A Border Patrol agent, shot on the highway
Agent David Maland, 44, pulled over a car on Interstate 91 in Coventry, Vermont, on Jan. 20, 2025. A gunfight broke out, and Maland was killed. So was Felix Bauckholt, a German man in the cult who called himself "Ophelia," riding in the car. Teresa Youngblut is charged with his murder, and federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
A witness, silenced
Curtis Lind, 82, was attacked on his own property in Vallejo, California, in 2022. He was stabbed, run through with a sword and lost an eye. He fired back, killing one of the attackers, cult member Emma Borhanian. He survived and was the only eyewitness. On Jan. 17, 2025, he was stabbed to death. Maximilian Snyder is charged with his murder, and prosecutors say he did it to stop Lind from testifying.
A couple, shot at home
Richard and Rita Zajko were shot in their Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, home on New Year's Eve 2022. This June, their daughter Michelle Zajko was charged with their murders. The district attorney says she didn't act alone.
Caught living in box trucks
LaSota, Zajko and Daniel Blank were arrested in February 2025 after a landowner near Frostburg, Maryland, found them living in box trucks on his property, with guns. LaSota now faces a federal gun charge, and a judge has ordered a competency evaluation after LaSota's lawyer said he may not be fit for trial.
Cover image: The Zizians by Andy Ngo
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