Overview

• Under Attorney General Pam Bondi’s February directive, the Justice Department scheduled Teresa Youngblut’s mitigation filing by July 28 in the killing of a federal agent
• Youngblut’s attorneys filed a motion seeking an extension until January 2026 to compile mitigating evidence before the capital review committee
• The Justice Department’s internal process to decide on seeking the death penalty typically spans more than a year, defense filings note
• Investigators have linked Youngblut to the Zizians cult, which federal authorities allege is tied to six killings across multiple states
• Border Patrol Agent David Maland’s death on January 20 was the first line-of-duty killing of an agent since 2014