This story, by Peter D’Auria, was first published by VTDigger, a nonprofit news outlet based in Vermont.
Michelle Zajko, a onetime Vermont resident linked to a cult-like group that others have nicknamed the “Zizians,” who faces federal gun charges, proclaimed her innocence in a lengthy letter shared with VTDigger by her attorney.
The 20-page letter, written on lined paper in blue ink and dated March 9, appears to be Zajko’s first public statements in the two months since her arrest. The Associated Press first reported on the letter.
Zajko was arrested February 16 in Frostburg, Maryland, along with her companions Jack LaSota, known as Ziz, and Daniel Blank. The three pleaded not guilty earlier this month to multiple misdemeanors for trespassing, obstructing arrest and possession of firearms.
The 32-year-old Zajko, who once lived in Coventry, Vermont and owns property in Derby, according to municipal records, also faces federal firearms charges in Vermont.
Prosecutors have said Zajko bought the weapons that were in the possession of Teresa Youngblut and Felix Bauckholt, also known as Ophelia, earlier this year. In January, the pair were stopped by federal agents on I-91 in a traffic stop-turned-shootout that left Bauckholt and Border Patrol Agent David “Chris” Maland dead.
Police had also questioned Zajko in Pennsylvania in January 2023 in connection with the killing of her parents the month prior. In her letter, however, Zajko proclaimed her innocence in that and other alleged crimes, writing, “I didn’t murder my parents.”
The letter reads like a hybrid of a manifesto, a list of grievances and a shaggy-dog story about a large group of acquaintances — except that it levels allegations of abuse against multiple people. Zajko expressed fear she was being followed and could be murdered, writing that she had spent the past two years “in homebrewed witness protection.”
Other than denying murdering them, Zajko offered no further details on her parents’ death. She also wrote nothing about her time in Vermont, although she did briefly reference Youngblut.
Zajko wrote that she believes she may be asked to testify against Youngblut, but “I will refuse to participate on principle, as I don’t believe Youngblut is going to receive a fair trial.”
Zajko’s letter also alleged substandard conditions at the Allegany County Detention Center, writing she was not taken to see a doctor after a concussion and fed only “300-700 calories of food that I am reasonably confident is vegan per day.”
Kati Kenney, an Allegany County spokesperson, said Zajko had reported no injuries to facility staff.
“Allegany County Detention Center takes all medical concerns seriously and has established procedures for timely evaluation and treatment by qualified healthcare personnel,” Kenney wrote in an emailed statement.
“While we were not required to provide vegan meals to this individual, a vegan option was in fact offered,” Kenney wrote. “If found to be unsatisfactory, they had the option to choose the meal being offered to other incarcerated individuals.”
Zajko, Blank and LaSota have pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges. At a hearing earlier this month, LaSota seemed to question the court’s motives for bringing the case, suggesting to a judge that “your organization has been involved under pretense” and “the complicity will be heavier than you can care to contemplate,” according to a transcript obtained by VTDigger.
The letter also attempted to rebut some of what Zajko described as false news accounts of the group. It drew a distinction between her group of “friends” and Maximilian Snyder, who was once engaged to Teresa Youngblut. Snyder is in jail in California facing a first-degree murder charge for the January killing of Curtis Lind, a former landlord of people affiliated with the “Zizian” group.
“The little news I’ve gotten is enough to determine that my friends & I are being described as Satan’s lapdogs, the Devil, & the Manson family all rolled into one,” Zajko wrote in her letter. “The newspapers do not seem to realize that there are multiple groups, & that my friends and I are not with Snyder.”
What’s more, she wrote, “My friends and I certainly don’t call ourselves ‘Zizians.’”
But several paragraphs of the letter are taken up by effusive praise for LaSota, aka Ziz. Ziz “saved my life,” Zajko wrote. “Ziz is not my leader, & I am not her’s. What we have is called friendship, and I love her infinitely more than I could ever express.”
She claimed Ziz “rescued multiple abuse victims” and even once stopped a terrorist attack.
“I’ve never seen her do an evil thing,” Zajko wrote.
