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

Yahoo

30-01-2025

(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 the group calls it 'a peculiar online cult that operates in the Bay Area.' An investigation by Open Vallejo found that people involved in the recent Vallejo killing and the shooting of a Border Patrol agent in Vermont are possibly connected to the group.
Open Vallejo reviewed police records, spoke to a person familiar with the group and reviewed years of Internet posts as part of its investigation into the group. It said the Zizians follow a self-described 'vegan Sith' ideology.
According to SF Fist, the Zizians appear to be computer-savvy and well-educated, and many or all of them identify as transgender or nonbinary.
The group follows 'Rationalism,' an ideology described by Oxford as 'the belief that all behaviour, opinions, etc. should be based on reason rather than on emotions or religious beliefs.'
Jessica Taylor, a person familiar with the Zizians who was interviewed by Open Vallejo, told the publication that Zizians believe human decisions and their effects are mathematically quantifiable. Veganism and animal rights are a core part of the group's belief, Taylor said.
The Zizians follow a person that goes by 'Ziz' and ran a blog that is now shut down. Open Vallejo said Ziz, whose legal name is Jack LaSota, previously lived at the Vallejo property where the recent murder happened.
LaSota was named by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of four people arrested for protesting a Berkeley nonprofit in Sonoma County in 2019. The protestors were allegedly wearing black robes and Guy Fawkes masks as they barricaded off an area where the nonprofit was holding an event.
The website dedicated to the Zizians contains an in-depth description of their alleged fundamental beliefs, and the Open Vallejo piece contains information as well.
Maximillian Bentley Snyder of Kirkland, Wash. was arrested on Saturday in connection with a fatal stabbing at the intersection of Lemon and Third streets in Vallejo on Jan 17.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Snyder is possibly connected to a group of rationalists, which resembles the Zizians. Open Vallejo said that Snyder's social media posts show beliefs that align with those of Zizians' though he has not been explicitly tied to the group.
Open Vallejo reported that 82-year-old Curtis Lind was the victim of the homicide. Vallejo police told Open Vallejo that a suspect wearing a mask and black beanie stabbed Lind to death outside his gated property on Jan. 17.
In 2022, Lind was allegedly stabbed with a sword by people living in box trucks on his property. A blog post on LessWrong claims that Zizians were responsible for the attack. LaSota lived on the property in 2022 but was not arrested in connection with the attack, Open Vallejo reported.
Snyder appears to have taken out a marriage license in Washington state's King County with Teresa Youngblut, who was charged with fatally shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Vermont on Jan. 20. The Associated Press reported that Snyder and Youngblut were in 'frequent contact.' Synder was previously detained to a double-homicide in Pennsylvania.
Youngblut and Felix Bauckholt, a German citizen who was also killed in the Vermont shooting, previously lived in duplexes in the same North Carolina neighborhood. The owner of the Airbnb unit rented by Bauckholt reported strange sightings there.
'The thing that struck me the most was that there was a stretcher in the living room. Like, what in the world is going on with these people?' he said. 'The hair on the back of my neck is still up, and I just can't believe it's being connected to my Airbnb.'
SF Fist said a total of six deaths have been linked to the Zizians, including the double-homicide in Pennsylvania, the shooting on Jan. 20 in Vermont and the stabbing in Vallejo. KRON4 reached out to the Vallejo Police Department and the Solano County District Attorney's Office for more information about the Zizians, and we are awaiting responses.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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