Second Arrest Warrant Issued for Vermont Paramilitary Gun Range Owner

A judge reissued an arrest warrant for the owner of an illegal paramilitary training camp in Vermont after an inspection of the 30-acre site found that his property had failed to comply with a court order, according to reports. 

Daniel Banyai, the owner of the property known as Slate Ridge, was held in contempt of court for failing to remove structures he built without a permit and to end firearms training at two gun ranges on the land, the Associated Press reported. 

“Respondent has failed to do so. As such, imprisonment is an appropriate coercive remedy in these circumstances,” Vermont Environmental Court Judge Thomas Durkin wrote on Monday, the wire service said. 

Durkin's order compels Banyai to surrender by Dec. 22.

The judge also directed the Rutland County Sheriff's Department and the Vermont State Police to enter Banyai's property to arrest him. 

Officials in Pawlett have been feuding with Banyai since 2017 when the town said he didn't have the permits to build the structures. 

Neighbors complained that they routinely heard explosions and gunfire and saw heavily armed men on Banyai's land, WCAX reported.

Court documents based on the inspection last week said it appears Banyai "removed some, but not all of the structures," the station reported. 

Other buildings — a barn and some shipping containers — were painted black. 

A berm for a firing range that had been ordered removed still remains. 

The Environmental Court last February ruled that Banyai was in contempt of court for refusing to comply with other court orders issued over the years. He faced fines in excess of $100,000 if he failed to comply with the order by June 23.

A judge in July ordered that Banyai be arrested until he proves that the structures have been removed or demolished, but the warrant expired after 60 days.

Vermont enacted legislation in May that outlaws paramilitary training camps in the wake of the court battles over Banyai's property.