A member of the cultlike Zizians group accused of killing a U.S. Border Patrol agent pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges Friday in her first court appearance since prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against her.
Teresa Youngblut, 21, of Seattle, is among a group of radical computer scientists focused on veganism, gender identity and artificial intelligence who have been linked to six killings in three states. She is accused of fatally shooting agent David Maland in Vermont on Jan. 20, the same day President Trump was inaugurated and signed a sweeping executive order lifting the moratorium on federal executions.
Youngblut initially was charged with using a deadly weapon against law enforcement and discharging a firearm during an assault with a deadly weapon, crimes that were not punishable by the death penalty. But the Trump administration signaled early on that more serious charges were coming as part of its push for more federal executions, and a new indictment released last month charged her with murder of a federal law enforcement agent, assaulting other agents with a deadly weapon and related firearms offenses.
Youngblut's parents watched her enter the courtroom, with her hair in braided pigtails and wearing baggy khaki pants, an oversized sweatshirt and a mask. Her mother smiled and waved to her as she was later handcuffed and escorted out.
At the time of the shooting, authorities had been watching Youngblut and her companion, Felix Bauckholt, for several days after a Vermont hotel employee reported seeing them carrying guns and wearing black tactical gear. She is accused of opening fire on border agents who pulled the car over on Interstate 91. An agent fired back, killing Bauckholt and wounding Youngblut.
The pair were among the followers of Jack LaSota, a transgender woman also known as Ziz whose online writing attracted young, highly intelligent computer scientists who shared anarchist beliefs. Members of the group have been tied to the death of one of their own during an attack on a California landlord in 2022, the landlord’s subsequent killing earlier this year, and the deaths of one of the members’ parents in Pennsylvania.
LaSota and two others face weapons and drug charges in Maryland, where they were arrested in February, while LaSota faces additional federal charges of being an armed fugitive. Another member of the group who is charged with killing the landlord in California had applied for a marriage license with Youngblut. Michelle Zajko, whose parents were killed in Pennsylvania, was arrested with LaSota in Maryland, and has been charged with providing weapons to Youngblut in Vermont.
After Youngblut’s not guilty plea, Judge Christina Reiss moved on to a discussion of pretrial discovery materials and protocols.
The defense wanted to ensure that Youngblut’s medical records remain privileged, describing them as “voluminous” and disclosing that Youngblut is receiving regular treatment for a gunshot wound. The judge confirmed that medical and mental health records fall under privileged material and maintained that if the government seeks to request any medical records in the future, it will ask for the court’s permission.
Both parties acknowledged the heightened scrutiny required given that it is now a capital case and agreed that a Nov. 5 pretrial motions deadline needs to be extended. Reiss granted an extension to be determined in the coming weeks.
Vermont abolished its state death penalty in 1972. The last person sentenced to death in the state on federal charges was Donald Fell, who was convicted in 2005 of abducting and killing a supermarket worker five years earlier. But the conviction and sentence were later thrown out because of juror misconduct, and in 2018, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
