jack lasota, a blogger and computer programmer, is believed to be the leader of the lasota once lived in berkeley. she identifies as transgender. in 2022, it's believed lasota faked her own death. an online obituary mentioned a boating accident near half moon bay, though her body was never recovered. during a coast guard search, an abandoned boat once belonging to lasota remains at pillar point harbor today. michelle zajko was also arrested in maryland on sunday. both zajko and lasota are facing charges of trespassing, obstruction and possessing a handgun. a third suspect, daniel blank, is facing charges of trespassing and obstruction. the trio had been on the run since 2023, when investigators were searching for leads in the double homicide of zac sos parents in pennsylvania. a linkedin page that appears to be blanks listed him as a graduate of monta vista high school and uc berkeley with a degree in computer science. he recently worked as a software engineer. his last known address is in sacramento, though his parents reportedly live in the east bay. blanks father told me via text t

lasota's lawyer was told that lasota had died.later, lind was attacked with a samurai sword, saved by his neighbor. >> you can see where he had his hand on the, where he was banging on the door. he said i'm dying. >> reporter: the attackers included two people who were with lasota at the 2019 protest. one was shot and killed by lind in self-defense. >> he was blinded in one eye. the sword, according to a witness, was actually sticking out of lind at one point. he was impaled with it during the attack. >> reporter: shortly after, authorities found lasota alive and well at the scene of the attack, though she was not charged. on new year's eve 2022, rita and richard zatko were shot and killed. lasota was arrested for disorderly conduct in connection to the investigation. in january of this year, a follower of lasota, a transgender woman died in a shootout with a border patrol agent who was also killed. days later, kurt lind was killed days before the stabbing case was set to go to trial. maximilian snider has been charged with the mu

jack lasota, a blogger and computer programmer, is believed to be the leader of the lasota once lived in berkeley. she identifies as transgender. in 2022, it's believed lasota faked her own death. an online obituary mentioned a boating accident near half moon bay, though her body was never recovered. during a coast guard search, an abandoned boat once belonging to lasota remains at pillar point harbor today. michelle zajko was also arrested in maryland on sunday. both zajko and lasota are facing charges of trespassing, obstruction and possessing a handgun. a third suspect, daniel blank, is facing charges of trespassing and obstruction. the trio had been on the run since 2023, when investigators were searching for leads in the double homicide of zac sos parents in pennsylvania. a linkedin page that appears to be blanks listed him as a graduate of monta vista high school and uc berkeley with a degree in computer science. he recently worked as a software engineer. his last known address is in sacramento that his parents reportedly live in the east bay. blanks father told me via text that

lasota was declared dead at the time. then that november that vallejo landlord tried to evict lasota and other positions. two days before the deadline, the landlord was attacked with a sword. then fast forward to this january. that's when the landlord was killed. also in january, the u.s. border patrol officer was killed in vermont. that incident is what led the fbi to start connecting the dots in their cross-country investigation. developing news in southern california los angeles mayor karen bass has fired the city's fire chief. bass says the removal of chief christine crowley is effective immediately. bass says 1000 firefighters could have been on duty the morning that the l.a. fires broke out last month, but that they were sent home on the chief's watch. the mayor is under heavy criticism herself for having been on an overseas trip while her city was burning, but she's now saying that before fires erupted, chief crowley failed to warn her about the risk of a firestorm. what a contrast. it is a beautiful day here in th

jack lasota, a blogger and computer programmer, is believed to be the leader of the lasota once livedtransgender. in 2022, it's believed lasota faked her own death. an online obituary mentioned a boating accident near half moon bay, though her body was never recovered during a coast guard search. an abandoned boat once belonging to lasota rem a pillar point harbor today. michelle zajko was also arrested in maryland on sunday. both zajko and lasota are facing charges of trespassing, obstruction and possessing a handgun. a third suspect, daniel blank, is facing charges of trespassing and obstruction. the trio had been on the run since 2023, when investigators were searching for leads in the double homicide of zac sos parents in pennsylvania. a linkedin page that appears to be blank listed him as a graduate of monta vista high school and uc berkeley with a degree in computer science. he recently worked as a software engineer. his last known address is in sacramento, though his parents reportedly live in the east bay. blanks father told me via text that he believes his son became a victim

jack lasota, never been charged with murder. what comes next for him? and if i can also add, do we know who's funding their legal fees yet? right. so lasota has been arraigned this morning in maryland on charges of obstruction. and some weapons charges. we'll see what happens next with that case. it will proceed from here in maryland. and we'll we'll go from there. a lot happening. keep us posted, anna, with this really nice reporting from you guys there in vallejo. appreciate your time tonight. thank you. let's move on now. some big changes for the hillsdale shopping center in san mateo. this is a legendary shopping center. recently opened up part of the mall to outside strolling. now its owners are proposing an even bigger makeover. they want to demolish the enclosed part of the mall for a more open concept. that new design includes 2,000,000fts of retail, commercial and more than a thousand new homes. the northern part of that mall will remain as it is. the open concept is similar to stanford shopping center and santana row. our goal is to, you know,

jack lasota, from berkeley, was arrested on sunday along with two other members of the group. abc seven news reporter leslie brinkley has been following the story of this bizarre case. >> the three suspects appeared in a maryland courtroom tuesday morning, facing gun and trespassing charges, but they have apparent ties to a cult like group called the with bay area connections. prosecutors said 34 year old jack lasota from berkeley, appears to be the leader of an extremist group known as visions that has been linked to six murders in three states. also appearing alongside lasota were michelle, from pennsylvania and daniel blank from sacramento. the three were arrested in maryland over the weekend, ap reported. they wore gun belts, holding ammunition and possessed several weapons. a state attorney said lasota previously faked her own death, leading her bay area family to declare her dead from a san francisco bay, drowning a few years ago. the visions have ties to a 2022 murder in vallejo and an attack on a landlord there. suspect michelle joshua's parents were found murdered in

lasota asked the judge in maryland to be released, saying she didn't have the means to travel. she also requested a vegan diet. the judge denied bail, citing concerns about her being a flight risk and a danger to public safety. le blanc and co will be back in court on march 24th. i'm leslie brinkley, abc seven news. >> and here is a closer look at the group over the years. it was in 2016, while living in the bay area, that jack lassota started writing under the online persona. years later, in 2022, the u.s. coast guard responded to a report that lassota had fallen out of a boat on san francisco bay, but no body was found. then that november, that vallejo landlord tried to evict lassota and others. two days before the deadline, the landlord was attacked with a sword. then fast forward to this january. that's when the landlord was killed. also in january, the u.s. border patrol officer was killed in vermont. that incident is what led the fbi to start connecting the dots in their cross country investigation. >> in san francisco, work hs begun to remove the controversial valencia s

now lasota. first landed on the radar of police back in 2019, after she was arrested in sonoma county at a protest. she and a group of followers later moved to vallejo, where they were accused of attacking and killing their landlord. >> the violence really starts that we know of starts in 2022. prosecutors allege that these three individuals sneak up, pretend like there's a water leak and attack him with swords and knives. >> their landlord survived that attack, but last month, with the trial approaching, he was stabbed and killed. the man arrested in the killing also has ties to the acenas. he and two other members are currently in police custody in solano county. investigators across the country are trying to piece together the connections in what appears to be a cult driven crime spree led by lasota. a maryland judge has ordered all three suspects be held without bail. pam. >> all right. thank you. andre. some of the other stories we're following for you this morning. people living near a batt

jack lasota and michellee numerous charges, but no homicide charges.ey for lasota would not confirm the arrests or any other details. >> coming up, a new exhibit at the black panther party museum just in time for black history month. plus. >> black history month celebration showcasing the talents of teens. we'll show you the highlights. >> then later in sports spring training in full swing. how some of the new faces on the giants looked in arizona as full squad star returns to sonoma state, where he once played ball to protest cuts to athletics. the message jalen wells had ♪ ♪ ♪ well, it's a message of hope and inspiration today. talented teens came together in oakland to celebrate black history. >> as ktvu is, amber lee reports, these teens say they want to encourage other young people to chase their dreams and always carry the torch of black excellence. >> this way. [music] i was born- [music] by the river. >> the voices of the naacp, imani youth council rang out at the chapel of the chimes in oakland. >> oh, beyond the sky. >> this is the 14th annua

the alleged head of the group, jack lasota, was arrested on sunday with two other alleged members of of interest in her parents. 2022 murders. now, lasota is a transgender who allegedly bought the gun used by another alleged decision to kill a border patrol agent in vermont. many of us are obsessed with cults, and so to see what seems to be a real life unfolding of a story that we imagine that in ten years we may be watching on netflix is absolutely fascinating. associate professor schaar, we just heard from her is alleged. who is? excuse me, an expert in cult says they aren't ready to label the ians as a cult, at least not yet. but this group has captured the fascination of a lot of people. also tonight, san mateo counties embattled sheriff is now at odds with the san francisco police officers union. they don't want the sheriff, cristina corpus, at their upcoming event. this comes as the sheriff faces calls to resign and a potential special election to remove her from office. the police officers association is holding an event next month celebrating women on the force. sheriff corpu

now, lasota and michelle zatko face numerous charges, but no homicide charges.irm the arrest or any other details. >> president trump's new environmental chief wants to take back $20 billion the biden administration put aside for climate projects. the president is pushing to freeze all climate funding from the federal government. the biden administration put aside $20 billion for clean energy initiatives and transportation projects for disadvantaged communities. the money comes from the 2022 inflation reduction act. administrator lee zeldin wants the epa to end its agreement with the bank and return that money. >> we at the epa and inside the trump administration have zero tolerance for waste and abuse. we're coming down hard on this. >> experts say the epa could face legal challenges if it pulls the money, because it was awarded as part of a law that congress passed and president biden signed. >> at 858. mexico says it's awaiting a new response from google before it sues the company over the gulf of america. name change on google maps. mexican president claudia

jack lasota and michelle zajko on sunday.hree are charged with trespassing and obstruction and are currently in jail without bail. prosecutors say the three are part of a larger group of young former tech workers who call themselves zizians lasota, who goes by ziz, is transgender, and lasota was originally declared dead in a 2022 boating accident, according to an obituary. however, since then, officials have linked the zizians to several homicides in california and pennsylvania and vermont. one includes the killing of a border patrol agent, david may, land in vermont last month. authorities say writings online from the zizians range from conversations about veganism and gender identity to artificial intelligence. daniel blanks father told the san francisco chronicle this about his son, quote, he went under the influence of a cult, which i believe it is. joining us now is san francisco chronicle crime reporter megan cassidy. megan, when did this group first emerge and how large are they? >> so they first emerged. >> publicly,

so very quickly, if you could get one question answered, either about lasota or this cult, what would it be? >> i think it is the war they have on rationalism. and keep in mind, this is a group of highly intelligent computer scientists, some of whom have been shunned by society. so this idea that there's two hemispheres in the brain and they're at war with each other, good versus evil, is the seduction for these members. we'd love to talk to these members and find out what the appeal is of this theory to them

the jack lasota is described as a leader of a cult like group known as the ians.aryland. the court documents reveal prosecutors think the group is linked to the murder of a u.s. border patrol agent back in january and five other homicides, including the 2022 stabbing of a man in vallejo. police say curtis lin, a landlord in vallejo, was stabbed in the chest with a samurai sword. lin fired back at his attackers, killing one of them. lin was then stabbed and killed last month. now, 22 year old maximillian snyder has been charged with that murder. snyder had recently applied for a marriage license with the person accused of the murder of the border patrol agent in vermont, jack lasota and michelle zajko face several charges, but no homicide charges. a lawyer for soto wouldn't confirm the arrest or any other details. >> we're getting some more information about an attack in the south bay that killed a teenage boy out on a date with his girlfriend on valentine's day. hundreds of people have donated to a gofundme account set up by the family of 15 year old david gutierr

left is jack lasota, the alleged leader of this group.de you describescd the parents of these parentsd describe the crimes they are accused deb of being demonic, you could say. an elderly couple killed in pennsylvania shot execution-style in their homes on new year's eve a couple of years ago. and last month, one of the soul witnesses to end up coming murder go to attempt a murder trial, two members had his throat slit in the bay area of california.th so, you know, at the i dropped the ball on this because the killings go back to 2022. >> laura: we certainly hopen thdoe fbi does the justice that should have been done a whilelw ayago on this because we have dd g americans.ne andy, as always, to think you. coming up, big medicine and her kids and what trump is going to do about it. ♪ ♪ do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. if you have $100,000 or more of life insuranc

jack lasota was arrested sunday in maryland along with 33 year old michelle zatko.ect is described as the leader of a cult like group known as assassins. a bail hearing scheduled this morning in maryland. in court documents, prosecutors believe the group is linked to the murder of a u.s. border patrol agent in january and five other homicides, including the 2020 stabbing of a man in vallejo. police say curtis linde, a landlord in vallejo, was stabbed in the chest with a samurai sword, then shot back at his attackers, killing one of them, and then stabbed and killed. last month, 22 year old maximillian schneider has been charged with that murder. schneider has recently applied for a marriage license with the person accused of the murder of the border patrol agent in vermont. lacosta and zatko faced numerous charges, but no homicide charges. an attorney for lasota would not confirm the arrest or provide any other details. >> more information now. on an attack in the south bay that left a teenager dead on valentine's day. about 500 people have donated to a gofundme acc

this all started with founder jack lasota and lives in berkeley. this is the mugshot when she and two other zizians were arrested yesterday in maryland. they were charged with trespassing and hiding a gun in their car. they're being held without bail. michelle zajko is one of the people arrested. and the 2022 murders of her parents, richard and rita in pennsylvania, charged with obstructing the homicide investigation and living with other members of the group. they tried to evict them, stabbed in the eye with a sword and shoots and kills one of the zizians. this january, she was stabbed and killed if vallejo. a man named snyder was charged of the murder, trying to stop them from testifying. three days after that shooting, there was a shootout near the canadian border. the other member of the group was charged with gun charges. we know the fbi has searched the home where zizian was living with the two people involved and the border patrol shootout. and we're waiting on the next steps in the trespassing case out of maryland. so i know that there is a

two others arrested alongside him this week include on the left the suspected ringleader, jack ziz lasota. on the right, michelle. the cult is said to have a highly intelligent set of member who is all met online. michelle was questioned back in 2022 after the murder of her parents in pennsylvania. she was never charged. lacosta was taken into cust for refusing to cooperate in that murder investigation. >> it's shocking. you know, it's something that you wouldn't imagine even happening here. >> reporter: neighbors react to the shocking double murder. >> you know, just passing, going for walk as a family, he was always outside cutting his grass or cleaning the leaves. they always had impeccable christmas lights every single year. >> reporter: most recently the accused cult members were linked to the death of a border patrol agent killed during a shootout in vermont along with another zizian member. the trio was in court in maryland. he spoke to a judge maintaining his innocence. >>> people on board a delta flight that skidded on the runway before flipping over are sharing their stories and

the judge presiding over the case called lasota a flight risk and a danger to the public's safety.ricans from serving in the military is facing its first challenge in court, with 20 states filing a brief saying the order is unconstitutional, discriminatory and harmful to our national security. i want to bring in nbc senior national security correspondent courtney qb. courtney, i understand the judge pressed the d.o.j. lawyer on the impact using someone's pronouns would have on their military readiness. can you explain what what happened here? >> yeah. that's right. so u.s. district judge anna reyes really pressed the department of justice attorney on this executive order that president trump issued on january 27th. but as part of that, one of the things that she asked the attorney was about the use of pronouns and how that actually impacts the u.s. military. so she said the she asked how it would impact military readiness specifically, and she before the attorney was even able to answer or complete his answer, she said it doesn't because it doesn't. any common sense rational human

sunday, police in maryland arrested their daughter, along with jack lasota, on gun and trespassing charges. online writings from the group span multiple anarchist theories, including radical veganism, or they look to end the human consumption of animals. >> so that old story of going out and joining a cult doesn't hold anymore. the cults are here. they're inside our homes. they're on our streaming devices, on netflix. they're also on reddit. >> for the last five years. uc berkeley associate professor paulomi saha has taught the growing course cults in popular culture. >> what the cult name does is it draws the headlines. >> saha said. what we associate with that word has changed with the internet. >> the internet is so diffuse that it's really hard to pinpoint both connections between people and the kind of causality that, especially in a legal case, you might want. >> saha said. for this case involving former bay area residents, referring to the group as a cult may be oversimplifying a complicated situation. >> it is these tenuous connections that are holding together a story of many peop

two others arrested alongside him this week include on the left the suspected ringleader, jack ziz lasota. on the right, michelle. the cult is said to have a highly intelligent set of member who is all met online. michelle was questioned back in 2022 after the murder of her parents in pennsylvania. she was never charged. lacosta was taken into cust for refusing to cooperate in that murder investigation. >> it's shocking. you know, it's something that you wouldn't imagine even happening here. >> reporter: neighbors react to the shocking double murder. >> you know, just passing, going for walk as a family, he was always outside cutting his grass or cleaning the leaves. they always had impeccable christmas lights every single year. >> reporter: most recently the accused cult members were linked to the death of a border patrol agent killed during a shootout in vermont along with another zizian member. the trio was in court in maryland. he spoke to a judge maintaining his innocence. >>> people on board a delta flight that skidded on the runway before flipping over are sharing their stories and

sunday, police in maryland arrested their daughter, along with jack lasota, on gun and trespassing chargesonline writings from the group span multiple anarchist theories, including radical veganism, or they look to end the human consumption of animals. >> so that old story of going out and joining a cult doesn't hold anymore. the cults are here. they're inside our homes. they're on our streaming devices, on netflix. they're also on reddit. >> for the last five years. uc berkeley associate professor paulomi saha has taught the growing course cults in popular culture. >> what the cult name does is it draws the headlines. >> saha said. what we associate with that word has changed with the internet. >> the internet is so diffuse that it's really hard to pinpoint both connections between people and the kind of causality that, especially in a legal case, you might want. >> saha said. for this case involving former bay area residents, referring to the group as a cult may be oversimplifying a complicated situation. >> it is these tenuous connections that are holding together a story of many people

su presunta líder, jac lasota, fue arrestada recientemente junto con otros seguidores.teos. vámonos a la ciudad de san josé, que está enfrentando un grave problema que le cuesta mucho dinero a la municipalidad. además del tiempo que invierten los trabajadores, se trata del robo de cables de cobre que está afectando ya el alumbrado público, dejando a oscuras y en alto riesgo algunas vías públicas. flavio lacayo nos habla de esta problemática y también lo que hacen las autoridades para tratar de reducir este tipo de delitos. yo he pasado caminando y miraba unas puntas de cable rojas. ahí pensé que estaban trabajando. blas camina con su perro a diario y habla de esos cables rojos y negros que dejan los delincuentes expuestos en las calles al robarse los cables de cobre usados por la ciudad para la iluminación en las vías públicas sobre la avenida vásquez. grabamos este video ya que en menos de una milla encontramos por lo menos 4 cajas de electricidad vandalizadas y ayer pasé para aquel lado. y también me extraño que también acá al lado también están muchas puntas de cable

jack lasota is head of zizians, linked to killing of u.s. border patrol agent last month in vermont and linked to other killings across the country. he will appear in court 11:00 eastern time. top official at social security administration stepping down from her position after supposed clash with doge employees over access to certain data. michele king had been serving as acting commissioner of the agency at time of the apparent dispute. doge employees looking for internal data system which included personal information of millions of americans. we showed this clip of music blaring from brian's office while he was on the couch down here conducting an interview. ♪ ♪ just want to let this story die ♪ ♪ >> carley: it was what was on brian's desk catching attention of some viewers, rich pointing out after all complaining about ainsley's heater, brian has a giant space heater front and center on his desk. very suspicious according to rich. excellent points, my friend. >> brian: very good point. >> steve: caught red-handed. >> lawrence: and in dc

her and met each other on line an end beliefs including -- they turned violent and 34-year-old jack lasota members arrested on charges of trespassing and gun possession and remote area of maryland. allegheny sheriff said he has no idea why they were there appear to us because they give different names. which is a telltale sign they are trying to hide something. the only thing i'm curious about why they chose this particular area to try to camp. we are still developing that. >> john: take a look zizians linked to six murders in three states killing california landlord in 2022 and the elderly couple in pennsylvania in last month, border patrol agent david maland in vermont near the border and journalist and he has been tracking them. >> i would describe the crimes they are accused of of being demonic and an elderly couple in delaware county and pennsylvania shot execution-style in their home on new year's eve a couple of years ago. fbi dropped the ball on this because the killings go back to 2022. >> john: that may be true, john, but the three in maryland held without bond and the officials

sunday, police in maryland arrested their daughter, along with jack lasota, on gun and trespassing chargesonline writings from the group spanned multiple anarchist theories, including radical veganism, where they look to end the human consumption of animals. >> so that old story of going out and joining a cult doesn't hold anymore. the cults are here. they're inside our homes. they're on our streaming devices, on netflix. they're also on reddit. >> for the last five years, uc berkeley associate professor paulomi saha has taught the growing course cults in popular culture. >> what the cult name does is it draws the headlines. >> saha said. what we associate with that word has changed with the internet. >> the internet is so diffuse that it's really hard to pinpoint both connections between people and the kind of causality that, especially in a legal case, you might want. >> saha said. for this case involving former bay area residents, referring to the group as a cult may be oversimplifying a complicated situation. >> it is these tenuous connections that are holding together a story of many

lasota is believed to be the leader of that group and lived in berkeley for a time.of young, highly intelligent computer scientists, and they are believed to be an offshoot of another group known as the rationalist community. the citizens, however, shared anarchist beliefs and grew increasingly violent. >> the alarms were sounding a couple years ago, where people in that community thought that the this group that they called the ians was becoming a cult and that they were dangerous, potentially to other people. >> the citizens claim to take extreme stances on veganism, gender identity and ai safety regulations. lasota, who used she her pronouns, first landed on the radar of police back in 2019 after she was arrested in sonoma county at a protest. she and a group of followers later moved to vallejo, where they were accused of attacking and killing their landlord. >> the violence really starts that we know of starts in 2022. prosecutors allege that these three individuals sneak up, pretend like there's a water leak and attack him with swords and knives. >> their landlo

lind had been renting property to the group in vallejo, including the reputed leader jack lasota, and was trying to evict them when he was killed. >> new developments today. in the push to resentence lyle and erik menendez, after 35 years in prison for the murders of their parents. at a news conference today, l.a. district attorney nathan hochman said he has not made up his mind whether to support the resentencing hearing. but he said he does oppose a new trial for the brothers. he cast doubt on alleged evidence of sexual abuse of erik menendez by his father, and said it was not pertinent to the case. >> we believe it's inconceivable, as we've argued in our papers, and defies common sense, that if they had evidence that would show that that sexual abuse had been communicated not just six years before the events, but nine months before the 1989 killings, that it would it would absolutely have come out during one or both of their testimonies. >> the previous la district attorney, george gascon, had pushed for resentencing, saying that the brothers had paid their debt to society. the pro

arrested the leader of what is being described as a cult like group called the zizians. 34 year old jack lasota was taken into custody sunday and charged with trespassing, obstruction and also had a firearms charge. the group that he has been leading has been linked to several homicides, including the murder of a border patrol agent near the canadian border in january. their goals of the. the goals of the group are not entirely clear, but online writings span topics from radical veganism and gender identity to artificial intelligence. and another member of the group are scheduled to appear in court today. u.s. and canada are gearing up for a rematch thursday in the four nations faceoff championship. canada seeking revenge apparently after saturday's loss in quebec that had been dubbed. that has been dubbed fight night because three fights broke out within the first nine seconds of the game. the u.s. went on to beat canada 3 to 1, and in that one. the coaches are now previewing what it could all now mean for thursday's rematch. >> i would anticipate. >> the next one. >> will be as every bit as c

jack lasota and another group member were arrested on sunday. they are charged with trespassing, obstructing and firearms possession. the group has been linked to several homicides, including the killing of a u.s. border patrol agent near the canadian border in january. so this morning, the rematch is set. usa and canada in the finals of the four nations face-off. they just played saturday and it was a doozy. three fights within the first nine seconds of the game, one of my friends texted me the best first nine seconds in sports history. the u.s. won that game. this is what the coaches are saying about the rematch. >> i would. anticipate the next one will be. as every bit. >> as competitive, if, if not more. and now it's win. one more game. it just happens to be against the team that beat us. after the. >> fireworks that. >> went off on saturday night. >> so i. >> think. it should be a pretty good made for tv event. >> the puck puck drops at 8 p.m. in the hub of the hockey universe, boston, massachusetts. kate just dripping with with bias drippi

so very quickly, if you could get one question answered, either about lasota or this cult, what would it be? >> i think it is the war they have on rationalism. and keep in mind, this is a group of highly intelligent computer scientists, some of whom have been shunned by society. so this idea that there's two hemispheres in the brain and they're at war with each other, good versus evil, is the seduction for these members. we'd love to talk to these members and find out what the appeal is of this theory to them in particular, and see if we could figure out what that common thread is that's attracting them to the zizians. >> all right. casey, jordan, i think this discussion will continue. thank you so much for being with us. a new hour of cnn news central starts right now. >> president trump calls ukraine's president zelenskyy a dictator without elections, while referring to himself as a king. on social media, an angry shift in tone towards ukraine as he cozies up to russia and a hostage exchange of the dead, hamas turns over the bodies of four hostages, including two children who became

jack lasota, michelle zajko and daniel blank were taken into custody over the weekend in maryland.y're charged with trespassing and obstruction and are currently being held without bail. now, prosecutors say that lesotho, who goes by the moniker ziz online, is the alleged leader of the zizians, the group that's been linked to homicides in california, pennsylvania and vermont, including the death of a u.s. border patrol agent, david maland. joining me now is cnn senior law enforcement analyst john miller. so what do we know about this zizians? i've never heard of this. >> well, they're pretty new on the radar. >> and it. >> tells us a few things. it starts with lesotho, a blogger, and the blogging is about radical veganism, animal rights, gender fluidity. they rail against a different group. that may be another cult, although different against rationalization theory. so the difference here, though. >> is they're arguing over rationalization theory. >> yeah. and when you get into the rationalization. >> people. >> it takes a lot of rationalization to understand them too. but this cam