By Jacob Greene
An alleged murderer visited campus a few weeks ago.
The Vallejo murder suspect, Maximilian Snyder, 22, was a computer scientist. He was arrested in Northern California on Jan. 24 on suspicion of murder two days after being in the Grubbs Learning Center. The murder, a stabbing, took place on Jan. 17 in Vallejo, Calif.
Campus is safe—it is also better lit than ever. However, even during the day, it is good to be on alert.
No one was harmed or threatened when Snyder was on campus.
An article on openvallejo.org gave background information on Snyder. The article stated that Snyder allegedly killed “an 82-year-old Vallejo landlord to prevent him from testifying in a murder case.”
Teresa Youngblut, 21, a computer science student at the University of Washington was charged in connection with the shooting of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland.
Youngblut and Snyder applied for a marriage license in November of 2024 in Washington.
Both appear to follow a fringe group. The group follows a self-described “vegan Sith” ideology that started in the Bay Area and has connections to violence, according to police records in an article by Open Vallejo.
The Seattle Times has found more information about the fringe group, known as “Zizians.” In an article posted on Jan. 31, the Times stated the following:
“Protesters dressed in black robes and Guy Fawkes masks — made famous by the movie “V for Vendetta” — were arrested for allegedly barricading a retreat hosted by the Center for Applied Rationality, a Berkeley, Calif., nonprofit that offers workshops on rational decision-making skills, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.”
One of the members arrested at that protest was the creator of the ideology, Jack “Ziz” LaSota.
The Seattle Times went on to state,
“LaSota is considered to be the leader of a group known as ‘Zizians’ that appears to be an offshoot of ‘rationalists,’ a movement focused on decision-making based on scientific reason, stripped of biases. Zizians appear to be specifically concerned with animal rights and ensuring that AI models are aligned with human values.”
ABC7 News has given more information following the arrest of Snyder.
“Snyder is accused of killing 82-year-old Curtis Lind on Jan. 17. According to the criminal complaint filed in Solano County, Snyder allegedly killed Lind with a knife on Jan. 17. The complaint alleges Lind was a witness to a crime who was ‘intentionally killed for the purpose of preventing his testimony in a criminal proceeding’ or to retaliate for his testimony.”
Campus Safety Officer Jacob Oberg talked to Snyder.
“I talked to the guy when he first pulled up to campus ‘cause he asked if the library was open and I said, ‘Yeah, it's open to the public,’” Oberg said.
Oberg was later called by library staff regarding the—then, unknown—Snyder.
“He just asked if he could use it and so I gave him directions to him where it was and then I didn't see him since. Then I later got a call from the library staff, and they were talking about how, ‘Oh, there's this guy we don't recognize him. He's walking around a lot in the library,” Oberg said, “‘Oh, we just want to make sure you know, right? That he's here.’ And I'm like, ‘Yeah, I already talked to him. I know he's here.’”
Oberg let them know to give him a call if anything was awry.
“I told them, ‘If you feel concerned at all or if he’s, like, causing, a commotion or doing anything that makes you feel unsafe, please give us a call, let us know,’” Oberg said.
That evening when the library closed Oberg came to inform him it was time to go.
“He was just kind of sitting in the building and then later I went and talked to him and he seemed like a really cool guy, honestly, like, he just seemed like a normal person, you know,” Oberg said, “I talked to him about, you know, his truck and what he's been up to and I didn't have any weird suspicions for him, from my encounters.”
Simpson University is private property, yet open to the public. This requires Campus Safety—as well as everyone else on campus—to stay conscious. To see how mundane Snyder seemed, this is his LinkedIn.
Snyder was Oxford-educated. He flew under the radar—no one knew of the police searching for a man fitting his description. Snyder told Oberg his name was Samuel.
Snyder drove a white box truck that he told Oberg he likes to travel in—while living in the back. This aligns with the “Zizian” ideology. AP News researched in which they stated, “Curtis Lind goes to court seeking to evict LaSota, Borhanian, Leatham and others who have been living in vans and box trucks on his property in Vallejo, California, for nonpayment of rent.”
Snyder did not leave campus quickly. Oberg had to keep monitoring him before making the decision to tell him to leave.
“Eventually he went to his car, and he was in there for a little bit. Then I kept monitoring and driving by to see if he had left,” Oberg said.
Campus Safety is not the police. But their job is to enforce rules—to protect Simpson University. It is to respond to calls. That is what Oberg did.
“Then I talked to him, and he said he was waiting for his car to get started. Then I just told him, he had to leave and then he took off. I watched him drive off,” Oberg said.
In the following days of the incident, further security measures were taken by library staff and Campus Safety.
If you would like more information about Snyder, read the following article by The San Francisco Chronicle, https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/ziz-zizians-rationalism-group-20149075.php.
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