Cult-like group connected to murder of Minnesota-born border patrol agent

Border patrol agent's killing linked to group

The killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland, who was a Minnesota native, is being connected to a cult-like group that's been linked to several deaths across the country, the Associated Press reports.

(FOX 9) - The killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland, who was a Minnesota native, is being connected to a cult-like group that's been linked to several deaths across the country, the Associated Press reports.

Timeline of the cult-like group

What we know:

U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland was killed in a shootout after pulling over Teresa Youngblut and Felix Bauckholt last month. Bauckholt also died in the gunfire.

It all started in 2016:

The group's goal is not yet clear, but it all started in 2016 with an online blog under the persona Ziz, by a transgender woman named Jack LaSota.

The blog covered topics ranging from radical veganism and gender identity to artificial intelligence. This group includes a lot of young, highly intelligent computer scientists who’ve become increasingly more violent. There are now six death investigations in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California tied to this group.

Where the cult-like group stayed

What neighbors saw:

The suspects in border patrol agent David Maland’s death were recently living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The alleged ringleader of the group also lived in the area. That’s where the landlord and neighbors now say they saw odd behavior. They had two box trucks parked outside with electrical cords running from one of them into their place.

The road to Vermont

Timeline:

On January 14, Youngblut and Bauckholt checked into a hotel in Vermont. Investigators put the pair under surveillance after a hotel worker reported concerns about what they were wearing and that Youngblut had a gun.

Then, on January 20, Youngblut and Bauckholt were pulled over on Interstate 91 in Vermont. That’s when the shootout and David Maland’s death happened.

Most recently, the FBI searched some property in North Carolina.