‘Transfeminine’ Border Patrol shooting suspect had ties to fringe group, friend says - Newport Dispatch
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‘Transfeminine’ Border Patrol shooting suspect had ties to fringe group, friend says

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NEWPORT –– A friend of Felix Bauckholt, who died in a shootout with U.S. Border Patrol agents in Coventry last week, reveals the German national had become increasingly secretive months before the fatal encounter that also claimed the life of Agent David C. Maland.

In an interview with Newport Dispatch, Jessica Taylor described Bauckholt, who identified as “transfeminine” and used the name “Ophelia,” as someone previously focused on theoretical topics like math, artificial intelligence, decision theory, ethics, and veganism.”

“Ophelia was really not violent,” Taylor said.

But something changed in mid-2023, Taylor said. Bauckholt began having “anxious, secretive phone calls” that summer and cut off contact with previous friends by year’s end. Taylor believes this period coincided with Bauckholt’s deepening involvement with the “Zizians,” a fringe group that originated in California but has spread across the country.

The organization’s actual structure remains unclear, Taylor explained. She noted that “Zizian” is not their self-chosen name, but rather a label others created to describe this particular branch that split from the larger Rationalist movement.

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According to Taylor, the group embraces “timeless decision theory,” which is a Rationalist philosophy that claims human choices and their consequences can be reduced to mathematical formulas. They also hold unusual beliefs about consciousness, suggesting that people can maintain separate personalities in each hemisphere of their brain by alternately activating different sides.

The ideology heavily emphasizes veganism and animal rights, Taylor said.

Federal prosecutors have drawn connections between the Vermont shooting and other violent incidents, including a homicide in Vallejo, California, also connected to the Zizian group.

Teresa Youngblut, who was with Bauckholt during the Vermont incident and faces federal charges, had recently applied for a marriage license with Maximilian Snyder, who has been charged in the California killing.

Taylor said she had previously warned Bauckholt about the Zizian group’s dangerous tendencies.

The group’s connections to Vermont predate the Coventry shooting. In a separate incident in California in 2022, cargo trucks registered in Vermont were found at the scene of a violent confrontation between members of the group and an elderly landlord. The trucks contained used surgical equipment, laptops, and expensive electronics, according to witness accounts.

The FBI’s investigation continues into why Bauckholt and Youngblut were in Vermont. Five days before the shooting, staff at a Lyndonville hotel reported seeing the pair in tactical gear, but they told investigators they were “in the vicinity to look at purchasing property.”

At the time of the shooting, law enforcement recovered tactical gear, including a ballistic helmet, night-vision goggles, and multiple electronic devices from the scene.

“No one who I know knows what she could have been doing in Vermont,” Taylor said.

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