This story was updated at 3:16 p.m. on July 21.
[M]ax Misch, whose case is at the center of a constitutional battle over Vermont’s high-capacity magazine ban, is due in court Monday to answer to a new charge that he violated a court order barring him from purchasing or possessing firearms or other weapons.
Misch, a white nationalist and online troll, was arrested Friday by the Bennington Police Department, police announced Sunday.
Police say Misch purchased a new firearm on March 30, almost two months after a court had imposed conditions restricting him from buying, having or using firearms and other weapons. He allegedly paid for the gun in full, but it remained in the possession of the dealer, according to a police press release.
Misch had previously said in an email late Friday afternoon to VTDigger that he had been arrested and charged with “contempt of court.” He added that he was scheduled to “see the judge” Monday in court.
Misch had been responding to a reporter’s request to interview him for a separate story.
He declined further comment, referring questions to the Bennington Police Department or the Bennington County state’s attorney office.
According to police, Misch was released from police custody midday Friday, with additional conditions that he cannot enter “any establishment that sells firearms or ammunition.”
Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan, whose office is prosecuting Misch on two misdemeanor charges that he illegally possessed high-capacity magazines, declined comment Friday evening.
Bennington police say they began investigating whether Misch violated the terms of his release when they received information that he had allegedly purchased a weapon right before or shortly after he was arraigned on charges of illegal possession of high-capacity magazines.
Last month, Judge William Cohen denied a request by attorneys for Misch to dismiss the magazine charges against him. His attorneys had contended that limits set on the size of a magazine under a new law were unconstitutional.
The Attorney General’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, as well as Misch’s attorney had recently filed a joint motion seeking to have that ruling appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court.
The magazine charges against Misch were brought about a month after Donovan said he wouldn’t be bringing any charges against him, or anyone else, for racial harassment against former Rep. Kiah Morris.
It’s unclear whether the latest against Misch has any connection to the gun magazine case.
Morris, an African American Democrat from Bennington, resigned her House seat last year, saying she was a victim of racist threats and harassment. She had been the only black woman in Vermont’s Legislature.
Misch was identified as the person responsible, but Donovan said that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against him, mainly due to free speech protections in the First Amendment.
Misch had been released on conditions following his arrest on the magazine charges in February. Those conditions include that he not possess any weapons and that he stay at least 300 feet away from Morris and her husband, James Lawton. He is also barred from leaving Bennington County.
Misch is due in court Monday to be arraigned on a new charge for allegedly violating the conditions of his release.
