Curtis Lind in May 2022, the same month it sank. 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. LaSota was contacted by police during the investigation but was not charged.
Richard and Rita Zajko During a
welfare check on January 2, 2023, Pennsylvania state police discovered the bodies of husband and wife
Richard and Rita Zajko, aged 72 and 69 respectively, at their home in
Chester Heights, Pennsylvania.
Autopsies found that Rita had a gunshot wound in the back of her head and Richard had wounds in his right hand and temple. Based partly on a recording by a neighbor's doorbell camera, it was concluded they had been killed on December 31. She began talking to LaSota in 2022, and the two bonded over their "mutual grief and desire for justice" over Borhanian's death.
David Maland On January 20, 2025, after a
traffic stop,
United States Border Patrol agent
David Christopher Maland and at least one other Border Patrol agent engaged in a shootout with Bauckholt and another Zizian, leading to Maland's and Bauckholt's deaths and wounding the other member. Bauckholt and the other member were traveling south on
Interstate 91 in
Coventry, Vermont, when they were pulled over. They were put under "periodic surveillance" nearly one week before the shooting after they were reported to be armed and wearing all-black tactical clothing when checking in to their hotel. The case has been connected to the killings of Lind and the Zajkos due to connections between the suspects.
Background Before traveling to Vermont, Bauckholt and the other member stayed in separate
Airbnb rentals in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Both have been described as having cut off all contact with friends in fall 2023 and May 2024.
Homeland Security Investigations agents had been conducting "periodic surveillance" of them since January 14. A hotel employee in
Lyndonville, Vermont, reportedly contacted law enforcement about the duo after seeing one of them carrying "an apparent firearm in an exposed carry holster". Both wore "all-black, tactical style clothing with protective equipment". Their handguns were reportedly bought by an associate in
Mount Tabor, Vermont.
Shootout Around 3:15 p.m., Agent David Maland initiated a traffic stop on
I-91 southbound, about 15 kilometers from the border with Canada, with a blue 2015
Toyota Prius registered in North Carolina to conduct an immigration inspection. According to accounts by law enforcement, Bauckholt, registered as the car's owner, appeared in a Homeland Security database to have an expired visa. According to his family, he had been planning to marry his partner. Maland was an active security officer at
the Pentagon during the
9/11 attacks before handling security at
Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling. He had worked for the last 15 years for the
Department of Homeland Security as a border patrol agent and as a
K-9 handler. Maland's flag-draped casket was carried by a motorcade of Border Patrol agents and
Vermont State Police from Burlington, Vermont, to
Albany International Airport, and flown to his family in
Minnesota. The surviving Zizian member was charged in connection to Maland's death and pleaded not guilty. Federal prosecutors have filed a notice of intent to seek the
death penalty. == Members ==