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Jack LaSota - Developer in Hayward, CA, United States | Toptal® — Headshot from toptal.com in 2016

Zizian' namesake who faked death in 2022 is wanted in two states — Headshot from toptal.com in 2016

Introduction

J. LaSota ("Ziz") is a former member of the rationalist community who became the subject of multiple criminal investigations between 2019 and 2025. According to their own blog post, prior to 2016, they were a graduate student studying computer hardware engineering before dropping out to pursue indie game development. They describe themselves as a "Vegan Transgender Anarchist Rationalist" who attempted to create a communal living situation with other Bay Area rationalists by living cheaply on boats in the bay.

Biography

Early Life and Bay Area Move

According to LaSota's personal blog, they moved to the Bay Area in January 2016 seeking proximity to the tech industry and startups, viewing this as their path to "earning to give" and contributing to existential risk reduction. Their initial months in the Bay Area were marked by difficulties - they describe being fired from their first job after four days and struggling to find stable employment or housing. After a series of challenging living situations, including an allegedly violent confrontation with a roommate, they began living on boats in the Bay Area, first sharing space with Gwen Danielson and later acquiring their own vessel named "Black Cygnet."

Early Bay Area Community Involvement

In the Bay Area, LaSota became involved with the rationalist community while focusing on existential risk, decision theory, and cognitive enhancement techniques. Through their connection with Danielson, they became part of an initiative called "Rationalist Fleet," which aimed to create alternative housing solutions for rationalist community members using boats.

By early 2019, LaSota had begun publishing increasingly confrontational content, including a February blog post titled "punching evil" that suggested there would be "no moral obligation not to perform self defense" if "the state has been seized by vampires." In a mass email sent to CFAR alumni, they warned "If you do not want to die, you need to learn how to escape containment" and "If you do not want to die with this plague consuming our world, then turn your hopes back to the hard-to-define things that generated these institutions that no longer deserve them."

CFAR Alumni Reunion Protest

On November 15, 2019, LaSota participated in a protest at a CFAR alumni reunion alongside Danielson, Emma Borhanian, and Somni Leatham. The group arrived in a box truck, shuttle bus, and Toyota Prius, using the vehicles to block the entrance and exit while dressed in black-hooded robes, black gloves, black silicone shoe covers, and Guy Fawkes masks. Two individuals carried walkie-talkies, one wore a body camera, and another carried pepper spray. Deputies found a written protest plan at the scene.

The protest resulted in their arrest on suspicion of felony child endangerment, false imprisonment, and conspiracy, as well as misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, wearing a mask while committing a crime, and trespassing. A SWAT team and helicopter were deployed after reports that one of the individuals might have a gun, though no weapon was found. According to Danielson's later account, the group experienced severe mistreatment while in custody, including alleged sexual assault, physical abuse, and denial of food and medical care.

On November 19, their bail was lowered from $50,000 to $10,000 after the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office reduced two of the felonies to misdemeanors. LaSota subsequently posted bail.

Legal Proceedings and Staged Deaths

In November 2021, LaSota and the other protesters filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Sonoma County, Westminster Woods, and others regarding the 2019 arrest. The following year saw a series of mysterious disappearances and apparent deaths among the plaintiffs.

In August 2022, reports emerged that Gwen Danielson had taken her own life, though no body was found. Danielson's attorney, Mr. Friedman, acknowledged these reports in court documents, requesting time to investigate the alleged suicide. Shortly after, on September 7, LaSota's family published an obituary announcing their death in a boating accident on August 19. Court filings detailed that LaSota had reportedly fallen from a boat into San Francisco Bay, with witnesses describing a Coast Guard search that yielded no body. By early November, LaSota's family had gone so far as to hire a probate attorney to obtain a death certificate.

These reports were contradicted on November 15, 2022, when the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office informed LaSota's attorney that they had been found "alive and well" at a crime scene on November 13. Court documents subsequently noted the discrepancy between this appearance and LaSota's reported death three months earlier.

Vallejo Incident

LaSota resurfaced on November 13-14, 2022, during a violent altercation in Vallejo, California. During this incident, landlord Curtis Lind was stabbed with a sword, Emma Borhanian was fatally shot, and Somni Leatham was shot but survived. The conflict arose from an eviction dispute at a property where Borhanian, Leatham, and another individual known as Suri Dao had been living without paying rent since the COVID-19 eviction moratorium.

According to police reports, LaSota was handcuffed at gunpoint at the scene but was not charged. They were taken to Vallejo police headquarters where they allegedly faked a medical emergency and were transported to hospital. A Solano County prosecutor later contacted LaSota's former attorney to confirm they had been "contacted by police in Vallejo this weekend" and were found "alive and well" at the scene.

Pennsylvania Arrest and Subsequent Events

On January 12-13, 2023, Pennsylvania State Police found LaSota in a hotel room near the Philadelphia airport with Daniel Blank while executing a search warrant related to a double homicide investigation. During the arrest for "obstructing administration of law or other governmental function" and "disorderly conduct," police testified that LaSota "had eyes closed...would not speak...was just laying almost unconscious or as if dead on the ground...had to be carried out" while Blank complied with police commands.

On June 22, 2023, LaSota's bail was substantially lowered to an unsecured bond of $10,000, meaning they would only owe money if they failed to appear. Despite their attorney assuring the judge that LaSota's mother "will take him home and make sure he comes back for all the court dates," they failed to appear for their December 2023 trial, prompting a bench warrant.

Current Status and Investigations

As of 2025, LaSota remained a person of interest in multiple investigations:

The December 2022 Pennsylvania double homicide of Richard and Rita Zajko
The January 2025 murder of Curtis Lind in Vallejo, California
Court documents filed in January 2025 connected LaSota to multiple violent incidents through their associates, noting relationships with "other individuals suspected of violent acts" including those involved in the Vermont border patrol shootout

Their whereabouts are currently unknown, and they are wanted for failure to appear in court.

Associates

Key associates have included:

Gwen Danielson: Invented "sleep tech" and "partial sleep" techniques. Shared living space with LaSota on boats. Allegedly faked her own death in April 2022, though her lawyer disputed these claims.
Emma Borhanian: Former Google employee who participated in the CFAR protest. Killed during the 2022 Vallejo incident.
Alexander "Somni" Leatham: Participated in CFAR protest. Currently incarcerated for involvement in the Vallejo incident where they allegedly stabbed Curtis Lind with a sword.
Michelle "Jamie" Zajko: Associate and person of interest in multiple cases, including potential involvement in the deaths of her parents Richard and Rita Zajko.

Attitude toward Violence

For more details, see LaSota's attitudes toward violence

Criminal Records

Westminster Woods protest		Superior Court of California, County of Sonoma (source)
Docket/status	Charge		Severity	Statute
SCR-733198-3 Filed 2022-10-26: Bail Bond Forfeiture Warrant Issued Case summary - SCR-733198-3 - People vs. LaSota, Jack	Conspiracy: Commit crime		Felony	Cal. Pen. Code § 182(a)(1)
	Obstruction: Public officer		Mis	Cal. Pen. Code § 148(a)(1)
	Conspiracy: Unlawful wearing of mask		Mis	Cal. Pen. Code § 185
	Trespass: Posted land		Mis	Cal. Pen. Code § 602(k)
	Endangerment of child		Mis	Cal. Pen. Code § 273a(b)
	False imprisonment		Mis	Cal. Pen. Code § 236

Related to the Zajkos double-homicide		Judicial System of Pennsylvania Web Portal (source)
Docket	Charge	Severity	Statute
CP-23-CR-0000962-2023 (docket, summary)	Obstructing administration of law or other governmental function	Mis 2nd	18 Pa. C.S. § 5101
CP-23-CR-0000962-2023 (docket, summary)	Disorderly conduct: Hazardous or physically offensive	Mis 3rd	18 Pa. C.S. § 5503(a)(4)
MJ-32248-CR-0000008-2023 (docket, summary)	Obstructing administration of law or other governmental function	Mis 2nd	18 Pa. C.S. § 5101
MJ-32248-CR-0000008-2023 (docket, summary)	Disorderly conduct: Hazardous or physically offensive	Mis 3rd	18 Pa. C.S. § 5503(a)(4)
CP-23-MD-0000315-2023 (docket, summary) Closed	This was a separate case resulting from LaSota requesting the bail be reduced, which eventually resulted in her bail being reduced from $500,000 to $50,000 on 2023-02-16.

Document of incarceration

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