PAWLET — The Vermont State Police announced the arrest of Daniel Banyai of Pawlet, who was the subject of an active mittimus from the Environmental Division of Vermont Superior Court.
In a release, VSP said Banyai was encountered at about 2:20 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, by the Pawlet town constable near the intersection of state Routes 30 and 133 in Pawlet. A struggle ensued, and the constable was able to subdue Banyai and take him into custody.
VSP issued another release later Wednesday with more details about the arrest. It stated that Banyai was taken into custody after Pawlet Second Constable Tom Covino pulled over a vehicle for speeding in town and discovered Banyai in the passenger seat. An investigation by the VSP determined that Banyai engaged in a physical altercation with Constable Covino before the constable deployed OC spray on Banyai to gain his compliance.
Banyai subsequently was taken to Rutland Regional Medical Center for evaluation and treatment of minor injuries he sustained in the altercation. He was then brought to the Vermont State Police barracks in Rutland for processing before being transported to the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility for lack of $15,000 bail pending arraignment.
Constable Covino was evaluated by the Fair Haven Rescue Squad at the Fair Haven Police Department for injuries arising from the altercation, the release stated.
Banyai, 50, is scheduled to be arraigned at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Rutland on charges of aggravated assault on a protected person and resisting arrest. The affidavit of probable cause will be filed with the court and made public following Banyai’s arraignment.
Earlier this month the Vermont Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Banyai of a lower court’s sanctions against him after Banyai was found in contempt for ignoring orders to dismantle a firearms training facility on his West Pawlet property.
The case – centered on Banyai’s former military-style firearms training facility called Slate Ridge – has pitted the town of Pawlet and several neighbors against Banyai. The Vermont Supreme Court upheld Environmental Court Judge Thomas Durkin’s 2023 ruling that Banyai was guilty of contempt. Banyai has ignored several court orders and sanctions imposed by the judge to dismantle the facility, pay fines, and turn himself in to authorities on an outstanding arrest warrant.
Those court-ordered sanctions include the ability for the town to dismantle any structures not in compliance, collect fines of $200 a day for the time Banyai was not in compliance, and for authorities to arrest Banyai. The accrued fines to date have totaled well over $100,000.
Banyai's attorney Robert Kaplan had argued before the justices back in January that the environmental court imposed “punitive” rather than “coercive” sanctions by levying hefty fines against his client and potentially forcing Banyai’s arrest and confinement until Pawlet officials could bring his property into compliance.
Both the Vermont State Police and the Rutland County Sheriff David Fox were charged with arresting Banyai. They were required to inform the environmental court every 30 days if their attempts to arrest him are unsuccessful. Both law enforcement agencies have filed two updates, stating that they have attempted to locate Banyai on multiple occasions, both at his West Pawlet property and at other locations garnered from leads regarding his whereabouts.
