Transgender, vegan ‘Zizian’ cult linked to Vermont border agent killing

A cult expert lifted the veil on the “Zizian” fringe group that is linked to the Vermont U.S. Border Patrol agent shooting.

The “Zizians” are named for a 34-year-old computer engineer, Jack Amadeus LaSota, who goes by the nickname “Ziz,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. LaSota, who is transgender, goes by female pronouns and created the group of vegan activists, the outlet reported.

The group, which began on the West Coast, was launched into the national spotlight after the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David “Chris” Maland in Vermont on Jan. 20. The connection was first reported by Post Millennial.

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Maland was involved in a shootout with German national Felix “Ophelia” Bauckholt and University of Washington student Teresa “Milo” Consuelo Youngblut near the U.S. border with Canada.

“The registered owner of the vehicle, Felix Bauckholt, a citizen of Germany, appeared to have an expired visa in a Department of Homeland Security database. Youngblut was driving the Prius, and Bauckholt was the lone passenger in the Prius,” court documents previously obtained by Fox News said.

An empty car on  southbound Route 91 near Newport, Vermont, where a U.S. Border Patrol Agent was shot dead, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)

“He spoke with two of the Border Patrol Agents involved in the incident. They described that both Bauckholt and Youngblut possessed firearms and that Youngblut drew and fired a handgun toward at least one of the uniformed Border Patrol Agents without warning when outside the driver’s side of the Prius,” documents said.

Bauckholt and Maland were killed in the exchange of gunfire. Youngblut was injured and charged with using a deadly weapon while assaulting a United States Border Patrol agent, and using and…