The Pawlet town government is again asking Vermont’s Superior Court to hold Slate Ridge owner Daniel Banyai in contempt of court and place his property in foreclosure.
A judge with Vermont’s Environmental Division first ordered Banyai, who has operated the controversial paramilitary training facility in West Pawlet, to close his operation and pay the town more than $46,600 last March for violating zoning rules.
The town filed its first motion to hold Banyai in contempt of court last spring after he held a “Second Amendment picnic,” during which a YouTube commentator documented his property and blatant lack of compliance with the court’s order.
The Vermont Supreme Court denied Banyai’s appeal of the March decision and his subsequent request to reargue the case.
Banyai has been the subject of local and national media attention since the fall of 2020, after he opened the “professional gunfighting” center and invited local far-right militia groups to train on his land.
He has repeatedly harassed neighbors, one of whom obtained a stalking order that prohibits Banyai from contacting her or her children. He has repeatedly failed to comply with local zoning laws and court orders.
Including 12% interest, Banyai owes the town $52,149, and as of March 14, 2022, he hadn’t paid any of it, according to a complaint for foreclosure filed by attorney Merrill Bent on behalf of the Town of Pawlet.
That complaint, filed Tuesday, asks the court to order a public sale of Banyai’s land because of his failure to pay the fine.
A separate motion, filed in February, asks the court to hold Banyai in contempt of court, saying he has failed to comply with orders to hire a surveyor, deconstruct unpermitted structures and stop paramilitary training activities on his 31-acre property.
Enforcement actions taken so far, the motion says, haven’t been enough to compel Banyai to comply. The motion includes a log of Slate Ridge Twitter posts that invite the public to use Banyai’s unpermitted gun ranges and facilities.
On May 19, 2021, for example, he posted about a five-day “intro to explosives” class and a three-day “vehicle assault” class, the motion says.
Banyai has ordered more development on his property, though he has no permits authorizing him to do so.
“Just in the past eight weeks, neighbors have observed contractors delivering concrete and stone to the Property, and have observed Defendant hauling lumber, sand, and other material to the Property in a one-ton dump pickup truck,” the February motion said.
On Jan. 16, it says, neighbors saw Banyai haul “a large shed” onto his land.
The motion asks that Banyai be “jailed if he fails to demonstrate compliance with the court’s injunction within 30 days.”
The imprisonment should continue until he demonstrates compliance with the court’s order, it says.
