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Zizians
The Zizians are an informal group of rationalists allegedly involved in six violent deaths in the United States, three in 2022 and three in 2025. Federal prosecutors say the Zizians are associated with persons of interest in the murders of four people: David Maland in Vermont (a U.S. Border Patrol agent), Curtis Lind in California (a landlord), and Richard and Rita Zajko in Pennsylvania (the parents of one of the group members). In addition, Ophelia Bauckholt and Emma Borhanian, both associates of the Zizians, were killed during altercations with Maland and Lind, respectively.
The term Zizians is derived from the name of Ziz LaSota, who is sometimes characterized as their leader. Zizians do not use this name or consider themselves to have a clearly identified leader, or even to be members of a group. The Zizians advocate a distinctive ideology including anarchism, veganism, and the notion that the hemispheres of the brain can have distinct genders and conflicting interests. The Zizians have been widely described as a cult.
A small offshoot of the rationalist community, Zizians hold a distinctive ideology combining anarchism, veganism, transhumanism, and radical interpretations of rationalist and effective altruism (EA) principles. They identify as "vegan anarchotranshumanists", emphasizing animal rights and viewing meat consumption as a severe ethical violation, prioritizing the preservation of all sentient life against threats like artificial intelligence (AI). Their beliefs are rooted in an extreme interpretation of timeless decision theory, a rationalist alternative to causal decision theory. They see it as requiring resolute opposition to perceived moral wrongs, such as blackmail or societal norms. This stance has led the Zizians to conflicts with organizations like the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI) and the Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR) over alleged ethical failings, including misuse of donor funds and anti-trans discrimination.
Zizians have unique psychological theories, such as "debucketing", aimed at liberating people from societal constraints to pursue their moral ideals, and the notion that the hemispheres of the brain can have distinct genders and conflicting interests. They claim to practice unihemispheric sleep (UHS), a form of sleep deprivation intended to "jailbreak" the mind, which they believe can enhance their commitment to their cause. In 2018, a member committed suicide, which an anonymous rationalist alleged was caused by that member attempting UHS. LaSota later wrote a blog post claiming the member did not perform the practice correctly. In a discussion with CFAR co-founder Anna Salamon, LaSota argued in favor of UHS, pointing to the suicide as proof of its effectiveness. Zizians' adherence to "heroic responsibility" and fixation on apocalyptic scenarios, such as Roko’s basilisk, drives extreme actions to uphold their moral framework, which they believe mainstream rationalists lack.
The group has been called a cult or cult-like by publications such as The Independent, the Associated Press, SFGate, and Reason. The Boston Globe and The New York Times have compared the Zizians to the Manson Family. Similarly, Anna Salamon, the director of the Center for Applied Rationality, compared the Zizian belief system to that of a doomsday cult.
Some Zizians are transgender or reject binary gender. LaSota's writings include claims that transgender women are cognitively uniquely suited for artificial intelligence safety research.
In 2017, Ziz LaSota began recruiting a "Rationalist Fleet" of followers to live on boats on the ocean, including a World War II-era tugboat, built as the Panameta and subsequently renamed Caleb, that they sailed from Alaska to California. After struggling with the upkeep of the tugboat they had been living on, which they eventually abandoned, some members of the Zizians opted to move into trailers and converted box trucks. Curtis Lind, who docked a boat in the same harbor as the group, offered to let them move into a lot he owned in Vallejo, California. During the COVID-19 pandemic, group members allegedly stopped paying rent and placed locks on trailers meant for other tenants. When Lind sued the group for back rent, one member allegedly brandished a knife, causing Lind to start carrying a pistol.
On November 15, 2022, Lind, then 80, was, according to his own account, attacked by a group of people after being called in to fix a water leak. He said he was struck in the head, stabbed repeatedly (leaving "about 50" puncture wounds), and cut severely on the back of his neck ("like somebody was trying to cut my head off"). He was left impaled by a samurai sword, and his right eye was punctured three times, blinding him in that eye. After he regained consciousness, he shot two of those involved in the altercation, killing 31-year-old Emma Borhanian and wounding the other. Both had been arrested alongside LaSota at a 2019 protest against an event organized by the Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR), and Borhanian had reported LaSota's 2022 alleged drowning. Two of Lind's alleged attackers were charged with Borhanian's murder under the theory that their actions precipitated Lind's self-defense, under California's felony murder rule. Their trial has been scheduled for March 3, 2026. LaSota was contacted by police during the investigation but was not charged.
Zizians
The Zizians are an informal group of rationalists allegedly involved in six violent deaths in the United States, three in 2022 and three in 2025. Federal prosecutors say the Zizians are associated with persons of interest in the murders of four people: David Maland in Vermont (a U.S. Border Patrol agent), Curtis Lind in California (a landlord), and Richard and Rita Zajko in Pennsylvania (the parents of one of the group members). In addition, Ophelia Bauckholt and Emma Borhanian, both associates of the Zizians, were killed during altercations with Maland and Lind, respectively.
The term Zizians is derived from the name of Ziz LaSota, who is sometimes characterized as their leader. Zizians do not use this name or consider themselves to have a clearly identified leader, or even to be members of a group. The Zizians advocate a distinctive ideology including anarchism, veganism, and the notion that the hemispheres of the brain can have distinct genders and conflicting interests. The Zizians have been widely described as a cult.
A small offshoot of the rationalist community, Zizians hold a distinctive ideology combining anarchism, veganism, transhumanism, and radical interpretations of rationalist and effective altruism (EA) principles. They identify as "vegan anarchotranshumanists", emphasizing animal rights and viewing meat consumption as a severe ethical violation, prioritizing the preservation of all sentient life against threats like artificial intelligence (AI). Their beliefs are rooted in an extreme interpretation of timeless decision theory, a rationalist alternative to causal decision theory. They see it as requiring resolute opposition to perceived moral wrongs, such as blackmail or societal norms. This stance has led the Zizians to conflicts with organizations like the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI) and the Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR) over alleged ethical failings, including misuse of donor funds and anti-trans discrimination.
Zizians have unique psychological theories, such as "debucketing", aimed at liberating people from societal constraints to pursue their moral ideals, and the notion that the hemispheres of the brain can have distinct genders and conflicting interests. They claim to practice unihemispheric sleep (UHS), a form of sleep deprivation intended to "jailbreak" the mind, which they believe can enhance their commitment to their cause. In 2018, a member committed suicide, which an anonymous rationalist alleged was caused by that member attempting UHS. LaSota later wrote a blog post claiming the member did not perform the practice correctly. In a discussion with CFAR co-founder Anna Salamon, LaSota argued in favor of UHS, pointing to the suicide as proof of its effectiveness. Zizians' adherence to "heroic responsibility" and fixation on apocalyptic scenarios, such as Roko’s basilisk, drives extreme actions to uphold their moral framework, which they believe mainstream rationalists lack.
The group has been called a cult or cult-like by publications such as The Independent, the Associated Press, SFGate, and Reason. The Boston Globe and The New York Times have compared the Zizians to the Manson Family. Similarly, Anna Salamon, the director of the Center for Applied Rationality, compared the Zizian belief system to that of a doomsday cult.
Some Zizians are transgender or reject binary gender. LaSota's writings include claims that transgender women are cognitively uniquely suited for artificial intelligence safety research.
In 2017, Ziz LaSota began recruiting a "Rationalist Fleet" of followers to live on boats on the ocean, including a World War II-era tugboat, built as the Panameta and subsequently renamed Caleb, that they sailed from Alaska to California. After struggling with the upkeep of the tugboat they had been living on, which they eventually abandoned, some members of the Zizians opted to move into trailers and converted box trucks. Curtis Lind, who docked a boat in the same harbor as the group, offered to let them move into a lot he owned in Vallejo, California. During the COVID-19 pandemic, group members allegedly stopped paying rent and placed locks on trailers meant for other tenants. When Lind sued the group for back rent, one member allegedly brandished a knife, causing Lind to start carrying a pistol.
On November 15, 2022, Lind, then 80, was, according to his own account, attacked by a group of people after being called in to fix a water leak. He said he was struck in the head, stabbed repeatedly (leaving "about 50" puncture wounds), and cut severely on the back of his neck ("like somebody was trying to cut my head off"). He was left impaled by a samurai sword, and his right eye was punctured three times, blinding him in that eye. After he regained consciousness, he shot two of those involved in the altercation, killing 31-year-old Emma Borhanian and wounding the other. Both had been arrested alongside LaSota at a 2019 protest against an event organized by the Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR), and Borhanian had reported LaSota's 2022 alleged drowning. Two of Lind's alleged attackers were charged with Borhanian's murder under the theory that their actions precipitated Lind's self-defense, under California's felony murder rule. Their trial has been scheduled for March 3, 2026. LaSota was contacted by police during the investigation but was not charged.