Human Experiments and Murder Sprees: Andy Ngo on Why America’s Tech Oligarchs Are Joining This Cult (Tucker Catlson Video)

In this 19 October 2026 published video, host Tucker Carlson talks with lournalist and author Andy Ngo who primarily focuses on anti-fascist movements and online activism rather than commentary regarding tech oligarchs.

The Zizians are an informal, fringe group of tech-adjacent rationalists who have been widely characterized by media and law enforcement as a cult linked to six violent deaths across the United States between 2022 and 2025. Emerging from communities tied to Silicon Valley rationalism, effective altruism, and AI alignment, the group became the subject of intense federal and state investigations following a series of interconnected crimes. 

Outsiders refer to the collective as the Zizians, a moniker derived from Jack “Ziz” LaSota, whom authorities identify as the group’s leader—though members generally reject both the name and the concept of having a formal leader. Composed largely of highly educated computer scientists, their distinctive and radical worldview includes. 

The cult believes in a set mix of facts which include a preoccupation with catastrophic risks stemming from artificial intelligence, the belief that the left and right hemispheres of the human brain possess distinct genders, separate consciousnesses, and conflicting interests, that radical dedication to animal rights and strict veganism and the rejection of mainstream moral structures and state authority.

Authorities have connected members or associates of the Zizians to six deaths spanning three states. 

• December 2022 in Chester Heights, PA – Rita and Richard Zajko, the parents of group member Michelle Zajko, were shot and killed execution-style in their home.
• Late 2022 / 2023 in Vallejo, CA – An altercation involving local landlord Curtis Lind resulted in the death of Zizian associate Emma Borhanian. Curtis Lind was subsequently killed in what authorities tie to a retaliatory attack.
• January 2025 in Vermont (US Border) – A highway shootout near the Canadian border left U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland and Zizian associate Ophelia Bauckholt dead.

The group’s evasive lifestyle unraveled in February 2025 when a landowner in Frostburg, Maryland, found Jack LaSota, Michelle Zajko, and Daniel Blank living out of box trucks at the end of a snow-covered road. They were initially jailed on weapons, trespassing, and drug charges.

As of 2026, seven individuals associated with the group are facing criminal charges across multiple states. 

• Michelle Zajko was formally charged by Pennsylvania prosecutors with murder, burglary, and conspiracy for the 2022 deaths of her parents. She is also accused of supplying the firearm used to kill Agent Maland in Vermont. Zajko continues to maintain her innocence.
• Jack LaSota remains in custody facing multiple multi-state investigations and local charges.
• Daniel Blank was released from a Maryland jail on a $15,000 bond in February 2026 while awaiting trial on local charges.

https://youtu.be/neXfC0htQgY

Chapters:
0:00 The Silicon Valley Zizian Cult and Trans Violence
10:36 Who’s the Leader of the Zizian Cult, Jack LaSota?
12:33 What Is Rationalism and Effective Altruism?
15:01 How Jack LaSota Would Recruit Cult Members
18:45 Jack LaSota’s Transition
25:06 The Cult’s Ideology, Experiments, and Commune
29:51 Where Was the Cult’s Money Coming From?
31:33 The Cult’s First Victims
40:30 Why Is the Media Covering for Trans Violence?
42:16 The Zizian Cult’s Strategy to Avoid Prosecution
45:59 How LaSota Faked His Death
49:04 The Cult’s Next Victims
56:16 Ngo’s Strange Visit to the Zizian Cult Hideout
58:01 Ngo’s Investigation Into the Zizian Cultist Identities
1:02:39 How LaSota Was Finally Caught
1:05:20 The Murder of a Border Patrol Officer
1:08:57 Why Are People Joining This Cult?
1:11:11 The Rise of the Trans Killers
1:14:25 How Is the Zizian Cult Viewed in Silicon Valley?
1:20:58 The Zizian Cult Witchcraft
1:21:58 Is the Trump Admin Cracking Down on Antifa?
1:32:04 Does the Use of Cross-Sex Hormones Cause Violence?