Federal Judge Orders Competency Review for Zizians Cult Leader LaSota

Jack LaSota walked into federal court last Thursday expecting a two-day fight over evidence. She left under a competency order that has thrown her entire case into uncertainty.

U.S. District Court Judge James Bredar granted a defense motion seeking a mental competency evaluation for LaSota, the transgender woman who goes by "Ziz" and whom media accounts have identified as the leader of a small, tightly knit group called the Zizians, which has been linked to six deaths. LaSota had been set to appear before Bredar for a suppression hearing on evidence collected following her arrest in Frostburg, Maryland, last year. That hearing never began.

Defense attorney Gary Proctor filed the motion late Wednesday, asserting that his client could not meaningfully participate in the proceedings against her. "Counsel believes there is reasonable cause to believe that the defendant is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering her mentally incompetent to the extent that she is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings," Proctor wrote.

Bredar granted the motion and ordered that LaSota, who has been held at the Allegany County Detention Center, be transferred to federal custody for at least the duration of the mental examination and the preparation of a report. The judge also signaled that LaSota's state trial, set for June in western Maryland, is unlikely to proceed on schedule given the federal court's competency finding.

LaSota faces a federal charge of illegal gun possession by a fugitive stemming from the Frostburg arrest. She and two others arrested near Frostburg also face state charges of trespassing and illegal gun and drug possession. LaSota additionally faces a charge of obstructing the investigation into the deaths of parents of a person authorities have identified as Zajko, who has been called a person of interest in that case. Authorities said they are separately investigating another individual, identified only as Blank.

Maryland State Police body-camera footage from February 16, 2025, released in a court filing, shows LaSota standing outside a box truck in Frostburg at the time of the arrest that set the case in motion.

LaSota's lawyers have pushed back against the framing that has defined her case in public discourse. "Ms. LaSota eschews the term Zizian and denies any and all allegations that she and her friends have formed a cult," they wrote in a recent court filing. No finding of incompetency has been made; Bredar's order initiates the evaluation process, not a legal conclusion about LaSota's mental state.

With the federal competency review now underway and the June state trial date in jeopardy, the timeline for resolving any of the charges against LaSota remains unclear.