PAWLET — Daniel Banyai’s recent spirit of compliance with court orders to remove unpermitted structures from his property seems to be at an end, and the town of Pawlet has filed a motion with Vermont Superior Court - Environmental Division seeking his arrest.
Mandated by a March 24 court order to allow the first of several site inspections, Banyai had agreed to allow town officials onto his property on Thursday, June 1, at 10 a.m., according to court documents filed by Merrill Bent, attorney for the town of Pawlet. However, at 6:04 p.m. on May 31, Bent received an email from Banyai’s attorney, Robert Kaplan, expressing that Banyai would not permit the inspection.
In that email, Kaplan referenced a motion for temporary restraining order filed in federal court.
“The federal court has not yet issued a decision on the motion for temporary restraining order that was filed yesterday on behalf of Mr. Banyai,” Kaplan’s Wednesday-evening email reads.
As of press time, Kaplan, Bent nor Banyai had responded to requests for comment or clarification on the grounds of such a restraining order.
Undeterred, town representatives including Bent, accompanied by officers from the Sheriff’s Department, reported to Banyai’s residence at 541 Briar Hill Road in West Pawlet. Banyai was not present, and the gate to his property was locked.
At the gate was a sign that read, “Warning: No trespassing. Written permission needed to enter. Admission with state or federal ID only. Trespass here, die here. Take the chance!”
Following that, Bent filed a motion seeking the court to issue a Writ of Mittimus for Banyai, which would permit the town to arrest Banyai, keeping him imprisoned until he has removed or demolished all unpermitted structures.
“The town respectfully requests that the court provide Mr. Banyai with no further opportunities to defy its orders,” Bent’s motion says.
In addition to seeking Banyai’s imprisonment, Bent’s motion seeks the court’s permission for the town to enter Banyai’s property to conduct the removal and demolition of the unpermitted structures.
The motion also seeks to deem fines imposed on Banyai, accruing since the Vermont Supreme Court ruled against his appeal, non-purgeable. Judge Thomas Durkin ruled on March 24 that the fines could be removed as a condition of Banyai’s compliance.
The bill for Banyai’s non-compliance, $200 per day since the Jan. 14, 2022 Supreme Court decision, has now eclipsed $100,000. Banyai paid a fine of $52,965 to the town of Pawlet to avoid foreclosure in April of 2022. Bent has previously said in court that Banyai’s ability to pay that fine is evidence that financial sanctions will not be enough to resolve the matter.
The Town of Pawlet v. Daniel Banyai case dates back to September of 2019, when the town took legal action against Banyai for multiple zoning violations. Banyai did not acquire a permit for at least 17 structures that facilitated Banyai running his weapons and tactics training school, Slate Ridge, which he opened in 2017.
Complaints from concerned neighbors over gunfire and explosions spurred confrontation, including alleged intimidation and threats towards one neighbor, who was granted a two-year protection order by Rutland County Superior Court in 2021.
Banyai had been exhibiting signs of cooperation with the court’s orders of late, stating in an affidavit at the end of March that some structures have been removed or deconstructed, and that others that hadn’t were only still there because of the mid-March snowstorm that rendered him unable to move larger items.
“I remain committed to completing the removal of all items within the Court’s February 8, 2023 Order…” Banyai’s March 31 affidavit said. “I affirm that my degree of compliance with (court’s orders) is not a reflection of resistance to the Court’s authority or lack of respect for the court’s authority but is the manifestation of circumstances largely outside of my direct control.”
Banyai’s apparent change of heart comes before the first of two schedules site inspections, the second to confirm that all structures were removed was expected to be between June 24 and July 1, per Durkin’s ruling.