By Doug LaRocque
Vermont State Police have announced the arrest of Daniel Banyai of Pawlet on an outstanding arrest warrant, or mittimus, from the Environment Division of Vermont Supreme Court.
According to troopers, Banyai was encountered by the Pawlet town constable about 2:20 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20, near the intersection of VT Routes 30 and 133. According to state police, Banyai struggled with the constable but was subdued and arrested. As of this time, the investigation is ongoing and no future information is available, however troopers indicate updates are likely.
The Vermont Supreme Court recently rejected a plea by Daniel Banyai that he be allowed to keep unpermitted structures on his property at 541 Briar Hill Road in Pawlet. In 2023, the town imposed a fine of $200 a day for each day the buildings at Banyai’s Slate Ridge firearms training school remained. They also issued a mittimus for his arrest. That arrest never happened and the mittimus expired. A new arrest order without an expiration date was then put in place.
Banyai argued before the state’s highest court that the fines and the arrest were wrongfully imposed and aimed at punishing him instead of coercing him to comply with the town. The justices wrote in their decision that since Banyai did not directly appeal the 2023 order, it was final and the court did not have to consider the merits of his case.