Zizians Jack LaSota Maryland charges trial.

Exterior view of the Allegany County Circuit Court building in Cumberland, Maryland on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, where three members of a violent cultlike group known as Zizians appeared Tuesday for a motions hearing after they were arrested in February on trespassing and gun possession charges. (AP Photo/Lea Skene)

Three Zizians face trial together in Maryland amid sprawling federal investigation

Three members of a violent cultlike group will be tried together on charges of trespassing and illegal gun and drug possession in rural western Maryland. The group known as Zizians has been linked to six killings spanning three states in recent years. The Maryland cases were originally scheduled for separate trials, but the defendants requested a joint proceeding and a judge agreed. The co-defendants are Jack “Ziz” LaSota and her associates Michelle Zajko and Daniel Blank. Authorities say they were arrested in February after a man told police “suspicious” people had parked two box trucks on his property.

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