lassota has not been charged in connection with this killing. other c crimes, investigators believe, could be linked to the members of the group include the deadly shootout of a border patrol agent in vermont last month, and the murders of the parents of another alleged group member. this is a complicated case. investigative reporter anna bauman with open vallejo has been following this group for months. open vallejo, by the way, is a nonprofit, independent newsroom. anna, thanks for being with us. a lot happening here. let's just start with this. is this a cult? is there an ideology that connects these people? i yeah, thank you so much for having me. we understand that, you know, it's sort of a loosely affiliated group of individuals and has been described as a cult. there's really a number of ideological beliefs that seem to have brought them togher. one of them being a devotion to extreme veganism. concerns about artificial intelligence and the threat that it might pose to humanity. and in general, members of the group have a number of charac

lassota was arrested on sunday in maryland with two of her alleged followers. michelle zatko and daniel blank. the trio faced charges that include trespassing and obstruction. blank is a uc berkeley graduate. his father told us today they consider their son a victim of a cult, and don't believe he is connected to any serious crime. but zatko is. she was previously named a person of interest in the 2022 shooting deaths of her own parents in pennsylvania, murders that remain unsolved. investigators also say she purchased the gun used in the killing of a border patrol agent in vermont the suspect who allegedly used that gun to kill the agent, 21 year old theresa youngblut, attended a private king county, washington, high school with the vallejo suspect, max snyder. in fact, the two recently applied for a marriage license. those who know them and are willing to talk to me about them are not willing to show their face, are not willing to have their name appear in any story because they don't know what these people might do next. uc berkeley associate professor pollo

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 street center bike lane that runs between 15th and 23rd streets. abc seven news reporter luz pena has been covering this story literally for years and is here live in studio with the latest twist. hi, lou. >> hi, larry. yeah, for over a year, a number of business owners have fought for the valencia street center bike lane to be removed. now it's happening. sfmta decided to remove the center bike lane and add a new design. but not everyone approves of this change. it's been 18 months since the valencia street center bike lane was installed, and now the city's transportation agency is removing it. >> i think

jack lassota, michelle zatko and daniel blank appeared in court yesterday.ed to six killings, including one in vermont and one in here in the bay area. lassota is believed to be the leader of the group and lived in berkeley for a time. another member went to cal. >> our time is now 644. a neighborhood in concord is still in shock after police shot and killed a man who they say was stabbing his father. it happened at a home on natoma drive off willow pass road about 140 yesterday morning. a woman called 911 saying a father and son were struggling over a knife in the living room, and that she was hiding in the garage. when the police arrived, they say they found the man actively stabbing his father. at least one police officer opened fire and the son died there at the scene. >> it's absolutely horrible. i would have never thought that to go here. i don't know what was going on with the house or the family, but it's horrible. >> now the father, who was 73 years old, is was taken to john muir medical center in walnut creek and he is expected to survive. >> a jur

now, jack lassota, michelle zatko and daniel blank are facing charges of trespassing, obstruction and six killings, including the fatal shootings of zac sos parents, also a us border patrol agent and a vallejo property owner. lasota is believed to be the leader of that group and lived in berkeley for a time. another member went to cal. the group is described as a circle 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, w

jack lassota, michelle zatko and daniel blank appeared in court yesterday. say they're part of a cult like group known as ians connected to six killings, including one in vermont. and here in the bay area, la sota is believed to be the leader of that group and lived in berkeley for a time. another member went to cal. the group is described as a circle of young, highly intelligent computer scientists. they met online, shared anarchist beliefs, and grew increasingly violent. >> we are watching unfold a really interesting phenomenon, which is a group that we want to call a cult, that seems to have its life primarily on the internet. i think we're looking at a shift in how we understand social relationships. >> that group is tied to several killings, including the fatal shooting of zac sos parents, also a u.s. border patrol agent and a vallejo property owner. a judge has ordered all three to be held without bail. but the question is why do people fall under the spell of cults? the psychology behind these groups is more complex than you might think. i spoke with