Editing Zizians (section)

=== Ziz LaSota ===
[[File:Ziz LaSota Sonoma County mugshot.jpg|thumb|The [[mug shot]] of Ziz LaSota taken in [[Sonoma County, California]] in 2019]]
Although the group members do not use this name or even consider themselves members of a group or to have a clearly identified leader, they are known as "Zizians", based on the name of their founder, '''Ziz LaSota''',<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--><ref name="Ratliff-20253" /><ref name="Barba-2025"/><ref name=WSJ_2025-02-22 > {{ cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/zizians-group-jack-lasota-killings-6f3aa40a | title=A Silicon Valley Intellectual Society Kicked Them Out. Now They're Tied to a Killing Spree. | last=Elinson | first=Zusha | newspaper=[[Wall Street Journal]] | quote=LaSota fit the archetype. A magna cum laude computer scientist ... She came out as transgender, embraced veganism, and gathered peers to live on a tugboat near Half Moon Bay. But as 'Ziz', LaSota had ideas that appeared increasingly violent" |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250302100200/https://www.wsj.com/us-news/zizians-group-jack-lasota-killings-6f3aa40a |archive-date=March 2, 2025|url-status=live}} </ref> commonly known [[mononym|mononymously]] as '''Ziz''',<ref name="Beam-NYT-2025" /> a reference to a character from the web serial ''[[Worm (web serial)|Worm]]''.<ref name="Oliver-2025" /> Like many other members of the group, LaSota is [[transgender]]. According to a CFAR employee, LaSota targeted "smart, mostly [[autism|autistic]]-ish [[trans woman|trans women]] who were extremely vulnerable and isolated" for recruitment.<ref name="Barba-2025" /> Ziz LaSota religiously identifies as a [[Sith]] and is known for often wearing a black cape.<ref name="Beam-NYT-2025" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-07-07 |title=The Sith of Silicon Valley: Ziz LaSota's AI cult left six dead – who is she? |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/the-sith-of-silicon-valley-ziz-lasotas-ai-cult-left-six-dead-who-is-she/articleshow/122300286.cms |access-date=2025-07-08 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> She was an avid reader of the rationalist forum [[LessWrong]] and [[Eliezer Yudkowsky]]'s book ''[[Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality]]''.<ref name="Beam-NYT-2025" />

LaSota, who was 34 years old as of 2025, earned a bachelor's degree in [[computer engineering]] in 2013 from the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]].<ref name="Brown-2025b">{{Cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Matthew |last2=Bauman |first2=Anna |date=February 1, 2025 |title='Zizian' namesake who faked death in 2022 is wanted in two states |url=https://openvallejo.org/2025/01/31/zizian-namesake-who-faked-death-in-2022-is-wanted-in-two-states/ |access-date=February 1, 2025 |website=Open Vallejo |language=en-US |archive-date=February 1, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250201031409/https://openvallejo.org/2025/01/31/zizian-namesake-who-faked-death-in-2022-is-wanted-in-two-states/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Barba-2025" /> She had an internship at [[NASA]]<ref name="Barba-2025" /> and pursued a master's degree at the [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign]] from 2013 to 2014 but did not graduate.<ref name="Brown-2025b" /> LaSota moved to the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] in hopes of becoming involved with the [[effective altruism]] (EA) and [[rationality community|rationality]] movements.<ref name="Ratliff-20253" /> Disaffected by high cost of housing, she and a group of fellow EA adherents sought to form a [[seasteading]] [[intentional community]]. Initially living on sailboats in the [[Berkeley Marina]], they eventually bought an old tugboat and sailed it from Alaska to [[Pillar Point Harbor]] in [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]].<ref name="Ratliff-20253"/>

During her involvement with the rationality community, LaSota became disillusioned with the leadership of community institutions such as the [[Center for Applied Rationality]] (CFAR) and the [[Machine Intelligence Research Institute]] (MIRI). LaSota and her associates claimed CFAR and MIRI discriminated against trans women, used donor money to pay off a former staffer who had accused MIRI leaders of statutory rape and a coverup, and ignored the welfare of animals in the pursuit of [[friendly artificial intelligence|human-friendly artificial intelligence]].<ref name="Ratliff-20253"/> CFAR co-founder Anna Salamon attempted to prevent LaSota from attending the fellowship due to strange beliefs and behavior at previous events, but was overruled by a committee.<ref name="Brown-2025b" /> These included LaSota's theories that human consciousness can be split between the brain's two hemispheres, which may hold different values, genders, and may be "good", "evil", or both.<ref name="Barba-2025"/><ref name="Brown-2025b"/> After more CFAR staff members raised concerns, LaSota was no longer invited to the group's events.<ref name="Brown-2025b"/>

In 2019, LaSota, Borhanian, and two associates staged a protest against a CFAR event at a retreat in [[Occidental, California|Occidental]], California.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Authorities ID four arrested in Westminster Woods protest|url=https://www.sonomanews.com/article/news/authorities-id-four-arrested-in-westminster-woods-protest/|website=Sonoma Index-Tribune|date=2019-11-18|access-date=2025-11-30|language=en-US}}</ref> LaSota and Borhanian wore masks and robes leading certain CFAR attendees to feel threatened.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Mystery in Sonoma County after arrests of protesters in Guy Fawkes masks and robes|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Mystery-in-Sonoma-County-after-kidnap-arrests-of-14844155.php|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=2025-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250930201829/https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Mystery-in-Sonoma-County-after-kidnap-arrests-of-14844155.php|archive-date=September 30, 2025|language=en|first=By Matthias|last=Gafni|url-status=live}}</ref> Because a [[911 (emergency telephone number)|911]] call led police to mistakenly believe the protesters were armed and because a group of children was also at the retreat for a separate event, the protest drew a forceful police response. After the four protesters were arrested, a [[SWAT]] team was deployed to evacuate the retreat because police mistakenly believed a fifth protester had a hatchet; that person was later discovered to be a maintenance worker.<ref name="Ratliff-20253" /> Fallout from the protest and the police response led to a rift between the Zizians and the rationalist community establishment: the Zizians accused CFAR employees of [[swatting]] them by falsely reporting to police that they were armed, while a member of the rationalist community published an anonymous callout coining the appellation "Zizians" and branding them as a cult.<ref name="Ratliff-20253" /> The Zizians filed a federal [[civil rights]] lawsuit against [[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma County]] in which they alleged that they were wrongfully arrested, denied medication while detained, subjected to excessive force, and mocked for being transgender. The lawsuit was dismissed.<ref name="Mandoli-2025" />

LaSota faked her own death in a supposed boating accident in August 2022, but turned up in January 2023 in a [[Philadelphia]] hotel room where police were carrying out a search for a weapon suspected to have been used in the murder of the Zajkos.<ref name="Barba-2025" /><ref name="Mandoli-2025" /><ref name="Ratliff-20253" /><ref name="Brown-2025b" /> LaSota was identified as the subject of an outstanding warrant in California and arrested for disorderly conduct and interfering with a police investigation.<ref name="Ratliff-20253" /> After her bail was reduced to $10,000, unsecured, LaSota was released pending trial. She appeared in court in Pennsylvania in August 2023, but subsequently failed to appear in December 2023.<ref name="Ratliff-20253" /> After media coverage of LaSota and associates related to David Maland's death, LaSota was recognized by the owner of a rural property in [[Frostburg, Maryland]], where she was attempting to camp.<ref name="Ratliff-20253" /> The owner called the police, who arrested LaSota on February 16, 2025, for trespassing, obstructing an officer, and transporting firearms.<ref name="Casey, 2025" /><ref name="Ratliff-20253" /> She is being held in custody without bail;<ref>{{cite news |date=February 18, 2025 |title=Alleged leader of cultlike Zizian group linked to Vermont border agent's killing arrested in Maryland |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jack-lasota-zizian-leader-arrested-in-maryland/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250408232306/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jack-lasota-zizian-leader-arrested-in-maryland/ |archive-date=2025-04-08 |access-date=February 18, 2025 |work=[[CBS News]]}}</ref> she requested a pretrial release, which a local judge denied.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Assunção |first1=Muri |date=February 18, 2025 |title=Leader of alleged murderous, cultlike Zizians group denied bail |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/02/18/cult-zizian-arrest-jack-ziz-lasota/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250519114910/https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/02/18/cult-zizian-arrest-jack-ziz-lasota/ |archive-date=2025-05-19 |access-date=February 19, 2025 |work=[[New York Daily News]]}}</ref> On June 18, 2025, LaSota was indicted on a federal charge of being a fugitive from justice while in possession of firearms and ammunition, which carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=Trevor |title=Grand jury indicts accused leader of cultlike 'Zizian' group |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/06/20/grand-jury-indicts-accused-leader-of-cultlike-zizian-group/84293701007/ |access-date=22 October 2025 |website=USA Today |date=20 June 2025}}</ref> On November 24, 2025, she was arraigned in federal court in Baltimore and pleaded not guilty to the charge.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 24, 2025 |title=Alleged leader of cultlike 'Zizian' group pleads not guilty to federal gun charge |url=https://www.thebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/zizian-group-cult-leader-not-guilty-plea-HNG2KNZIGVBLBN2X3XP3MEAXPE/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251125223713/https://www.thebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/zizian-group-cult-leader-not-guilty-plea-HNG2KNZIGVBLBN2X3XP3MEAXPE/ |archive-date=2025-11-25 |access-date=December 1, 2025 |work=[[The Baltimore Banner]]}}</ref> In March, 2026, LaSota's lawyer requested that her competency to stand trial be evaluated, citing inability to follow the proceedings and LaSota's accusing the judge of being part of an organized crime ring. The request was granted by the judge.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/12/nation/jack-lasota-zizan-leader-mental-competency/|title=Competency review ordered for Jack 'Ziz' LaSota, who rejects 'Zizian' and 'cult' labels}}</ref>