Jack “Ziz” LaSota, the alleged ringleader of a transgender death cult called the “Zizians,” claimed that the Trump administration is committing “genocide” against transgender people at a chaotic first court appearance on Monday afternoon.
While appearing before a Baltimore judge for his arraignment this week, LaSota reportedly accused the U.S. government of mass murdering transgender people, claiming that his federal firearms case is evidence of state-sponsored genocide.
“I’m transgender, and the intentions of this regime towards transgender people are very clear: genocide,” LaSota said, according to The Baltimore Banner, when Magistrate Judge Douglas R. Miller asked if he understood his charges.
LaSota, refusing to stand for the federal judge, also ranted about mass deportations under President Donald Trump. “Your government is currently going around scooping up brown people and disappearing them,” LaSota told Miller.
During questioning about whether he had read the indictment and was aware of the maximum 15 years in federal prison with the possible penalties, if convicted, LaSota chided the “mock proceedings” and said Miller is part of an “organized crime ring” involved in “slavery.”
At the outset of the hearing, LaSota was also combative while answering basic questions.
When the court clerk instructed LaSota to state his name for the record, he replied, “Justice.” Asked about his age, he said, “Timeless.” As for what year he was born, LaSota told the court, “I have been born many times.”
LaSota eventually pleaded not guilty, and prosecutors said the trial should take about three days. LaSota’s court-appointed criminal defense attorney, Gary Proctor, called their estimate “overly optimistic.”
LaSota’s long-awaited arraignment came more than five months after he was indicted by a grand jury in June for being a fugitive from justice in possession of firearms and ammunition. While at large, LaSota allegedly possessed a stockpile of weapons, including a sniper rifle, various handguns, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Following months of delay, Proctor filed a motion alleging that prosecutors were “thwarting” LaSota’s constitutional rights to a speedy trial. In the Nov. 12 court filing, Proctor also complained that the Trump Justice Department “offensively” misgendered his client by using biologically accurate pronouns and LaSota’s birth name, Jack, instead of “Ziz,” in the charging documents.
The “Zizians,” an anarchist-antifascist cohort named after LaSota’s transgender alias, are allegedly tied to at least six deaths, all of violent natures, across several U.S. states.
LaSota, however, has not been charged with homicide in connection with those slayings, though he had appeared at some of the crime scenes, was questioned by law enforcement, and in one instance, was charged with obstructing police.
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Amid a countrywide manhunt for him, LaSota was apprehended alongside two “Zizian” members in rural Maryland, as they were allegedly hiding in a box truck, wearing all black, and heavily armed. At the time, there were warrants out for LaSota’s arrest for failing to appear in court.
In addition to the state-level Maryland charges of trespassing on private property, resisting arrest, and transporting firearms, among other offenses, LaSota is currently facing a 2017 felony case in California and another 2022 criminal case in Pennsylvania for obstructing a double-homicide investigation.
LaSota remains at the Allegany County Detention Center in Maryland pending trial.
The Washington Examiner contacted Proctor for comment.
