Maryland Releases Zizians Cult Member Connected to Multi-State Death Investigations

Daniel Blank, part of a group called the Zizians tied to six deaths across multiple states, was released from a Maryland jail Friday after posting $15,000 bail. The group of young computer scientists with radical beliefs has been connected to homicides in California, Pennsylvania, and Vermont since 2022.

CUMBERLAND, Md. — One of three individuals belonging to a group outsiders call the Zizians, which authorities have connected to six fatalities across the country, walked free from a Maryland detention facility Friday after making bail.

Daniel Blank posted $15,000 bond and was released around midday Friday, while his co-defendants Jack “Ziz” LaSota and Michelle Zajko continue to be held without the possibility of bail, according to court records and testimony from preliminary hearings.

Law enforcement officials in Maryland have tied the trio to murder cases spanning California, Pennsylvania, and Vermont after a property owner discovered them residing in box trucks on a remote, snow-covered dirt road this past February.

Blank’s attorney Rebecca Lechliter refused to provide any statement regarding the release. As part of his bail conditions, Blank must reside by himself and wear a GPS monitoring device.

The death toll associated with this group climbed to six in the previous year following the killing of a U.S. border patrol agent in Vermont. Following this incident, the three individuals were taken into custody on weapons and trespassing violations while hiding in the forests of western Maryland. Currently, seven group members are incarcerated across three different states, all awaiting their respective trials.

Following their February 16, 2025 apprehension, Maryland State Trooper Brandon Jeffries documented that all “suspects involved are to be questioned regarding other crimes that have occurred across the country and have ties with the Zizians Cult.”

This collective, dubbed “Zizians” by those outside their circle, consists of young, exceptionally bright computer science professionals who appear to hold extreme viewpoints regarding plant-based diets, animal welfare, gender identity, and artificial intelligence. Beginning in 2022, group members have been implicated in the death of one of their own during an assault on a California property owner, the subsequent murder of that landlord, the fatal shootings of Zajko’s mother and father in Pennsylvania, and a deadly highway gunfight in Vermont that claimed the lives of both the border agent and another Zizian member.

The selection of jurors was scheduled to begin recently in Cumberland, Maryland, where LaSota, Zajko, and Blank face charges including LSD possession, intent to distribute LSD, various firearms violations, trespassing, and obstructing law enforcement.

However, the proceedings have been postponed until June after Zajko, who also faces a resisting arrest charge, dismissed her legal counsel, briefly acted as her own representative, and subsequently retained new legal representation.