Man this case has been on a slow cook for several years. Seems like the walls are closing in on Mr. Banyai. I wonder whether he is going to (1) comply with the court order, (2) go down in a hail of bullets, or (3) disappear from Vermont and hope the courts aren't pissed enough to go looking for him.

Ohhhh, please, please, please pick number 2, Mr. Banyai.

You think that but I have friends who are cops and sending them into a gun fight with kids at home feels unnecessary.

seems like this dude was looking to pick a fight with his local government, give himself a profile in the rightwing circles that his customers come from and make some money that way but he just doesn't seem to have the charisma to pull it off. Now the story is basically "guy with lots of guns builds stuff without permits, judge tells him to take down the unpermitted buildings". It's just kind of funny that instead of filing a couple of pieces of paperwork and paying the town a couple hundred bucks he's throwing away tens of thousands in construction and legal fees.

Well shit, I didn't expect redditors to volunteer to be the people to go storm his place. Bold move.

....or are you not volunteering for that? You just want to read the news article about cops and others dying because some guy is a lunatic?

I think he is just in over his head from how he imagined it.

Be better and don't sink to his level: Let's not have anyone get hurt/killed. Banyai is a bully; don't let him turn you into one too.

Where is robocop when you need him!?

4. drone strike?

This is what happens when someone remains in perpetual adolescence - a total preoccupation with rights and no thought of responsibility.

And even then, he’s not much of a crusader for individual liberties… it seems he just wants to blow shit up and be a martyr.

It makes me wonder what personal demons are at work here. Does he need help? Can he be helped?

There is a great This American Life episode on this - well worth a listen

Don't You Be My Neighbor

I feel bad for seeing the thumbnail and knowing what kind of whacko this guy was at first glance.

Edit: having such an easily recognizable fake-macho strut in a still pic is tough to pull off. This guy really needs you to know how tough he is.

This is all very cute, but please don't downplay this POS's intentions. He's looking to create a domestic terrorist training facility. That is what he is showing us he wants to do. As you said, it doesn't seem like he is going for the media personality thing, so all that leaves is a compound for training domestic terrorists in preparation for the next January 6th.

"owner of the controversial paramilitary training facility"

No no, it's a domestic terrorist training facility. Let's call it what it is.

I don't know anything about this case, but I'd bet good money this bozo is just itching to be a martyr to the far-right extremists he caters to.

As much as I would prefer his traitorous acts to be rejected on face value, the main thing preventing this guy from being a folk hero to the 2A-supremacists is that no one looks too kindly on Stolen Valor. It’s a bad look for anyone, but especially the ‘sheepdog’ types to have. You can be a POS otherwise and get pretty far/famous—look at Ted Pelkey!

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Its good to care about dangerous jobs and to help make them safer. I’m glad we can count on you to never order another pizza.

Boston Dynamics has entered the chat

What?

He wants to train martyrs for his cause, not be one.

Aw just let Alec Baldwin join and he’ll kill them all in no time

This guy has both claimed to be some secret squirrel ex military and also a Fed or cop, he is/was none of these things. The guy lost his gun rights and can’t legally own or handle firearms yet somehow he’s running a paramilitary military school and threatening to kill his neighbors.

Don’t be stupid, turning some of these nut jobs into martyrs only emboldens more nut jobs.

What a piece of shit. Can't claim to be for law and order if you don't even follow the law(s) in the town/state you live in.

He's probably one of those assholes that thinks you can just move to Vermont and do whatever you please and no one can touch you. That's far from the truth and if you piss off the wrong people, they'll get you one way or the other.

It’s the 7th most dangerous job in the US-wouldn’t want to ask too much of them. Policing ranks 22nd.

I mean, building codes CAN be a little confusing...

Ah, so the Steven Sea-gull business model. I hope he doesn't have to many payments left to big Steve for the franchise.

It's more that... can we trust him not to kill innocent people because he doesn't get his way, has to function within the rules of society, and gets his feelings hurt?

I don't see much about him that makes me trust that.

Yes! It was really interesting to learn he really is a piece of shit long before he came to VT.

Fascist mantra: “Laws for thee, none for me”

Oh, like Republicans?

No shit, right? People are still going on about Ruby Ridge and Waco -- where people pulled guns and told police to FUCK OFF, come and get me copper!

How did he not get the memo that this is the best-armed lefty place in the land? Maybe in the world outside of that Kurdish enclave in Syria.

Any of the three works for me. 3 is my third choice though.

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Well for one, your original comment was unrelated rambling.

Two, way to site your source. I'm sure the actual stat is transportation/drivers/delivery drivers, which includes a lot more than your everyday pizza delivery guy. I'm sure you're not purposely being misleading.

For another follow-up, a little bit of difference from dying in a car crash vs. actively going after someone with a gun. Dying is dying, but acting like a car crash is the same as people shooting at each other, give me a break.

I generally pick up own pizza though, less waiting and cheaper.

Even if it's just food service they are regularly robbed, and more likely to die of violence than police.

But it is fair to say we don't want this guy escalating and hurting anyone, police or not. I think what you were saying is "think of the police before you wish this guy commits suicide by cop". Which is great. But at a glance it also reads that you'd consider withholding justice to spare the police. Which prompted the "other dangerous jobs" discussion.

Turn off your TV

Good for him, fuck the local government telling him what he can and can’t do on his own land. Pretty silly that they’re charging him $200/day, I truly hope he bails and dosnt give them a dime.

Turn on your brain.

Cry harder, thought police wannabe.

You're a lot like Joseph Goebbels............

I wish more of the lefties would speak up against the relentless disarmament efforts by the clowns under the golden dome…

I’m a left leaning gun owner who is fiercely supportive of 2A/16A.

Unfortunately, I left off option 4, which is probably the most likely: interpose specious legal arguments for the purpose of delay. This strategy has been very effective to date and I am sure he has a couple of appeals left in him.

Go back to your REAL Burlington subreddit. Place seems so popular…

Yeah it's a fun listen.

The entire point of having a government is to establish what behavior is unacceptable to the community. The idea that you can like, run a meth lab because it's on your own property, or rape people on your own property, or break any laws just because it's your own property is illogical and immature.

Food service and everything to go with it, not delivery drivers.....again taking a larger group and comparing it to smaller, but ok.

I wouldn't withhold anything. Send in cops to get the guy, it's their job and part of what they signed up to do, but hoping for that outcome is fucked up.

No one’s arguing the legality of setting up a meth lab or SA on your property. Laws absolutely exist for these reasons.

However I think it’s a bit of an overstep to dictate what structures and activities they can do on their property. Sure he should get permits, but if Daniel Banyai was removed from situation and the members opened a sporting club and registered the property as it’s clubhouse would the outrage still be the same? Zoning laws aside they’re completely in their right to discharge firearms and larp as a militia member on their property. Even if they act like complete dicks.

It comes down to the town and the people trying to dictate what a private citizen does on their personal property because they disagree with him and his views.

Seems to be the official strategy of the far right. Trump lives and breathes that strategy.

> Sure he should get permits

That is the issue. He refused to follow the laws about how you can develop property.

>if Daniel Banyai was removed from situation...

Yeah if it wasn't zoned.

> Zoning laws aside they’re completely in their right to discharge firearms and larp as a militia member on their property.

Nobody is trying to stop people from shooting guns on their property.

>It comes down to the town and the people trying to dictate what a private citizen does on their personal property because they disagree with him and his views.

No it has nothing to do with views. You don't know the area if you think this is an anti gun type of town. It is 100% because he didn't get the zoning permits required.

I run an industrial business near by Pawlet. I have the state and town up my ass about any building activities I do. The process to get quotes AND permits in a way that actually allows a contractor to execute a project is a massive pain in the ass. That said, I follow the laws because they are very straight forward.

It takes a person with a victim mentality have see the laws laid out and think "nope I will just not follow the laws and I don't expect to experience any consequences."

At this point just send in the FBI.

What is Environmental Court and how does (quoting here) " a violation of local zoning ordinances " end up here ?

It won't.

All the court does is decide who is correct about the laws that are on the books. Not sure why they ended up with this one.

Are you familiar with Ruby Ridge? I don't think we want that happening here.

Yup, and children ended up shot. Use your brains idiots.

Probably cuz he ain't too smart

Vermont is plagued by people who come here to use it as their playground/practice arena. Politicians, right wing crazies, rich rude tourists, folks looking for vacation homes. We are nothing but a vacationland with lax rules for them to do as they please.

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Pro-2A lefty here. If the majority of 2A advocates weren't brain dead idiots who do more harm than good for the cause I'd be a lot more apt to join the cause. Otherwise I don't want to be even remotely associated with that camp.

>This guy has both claimed to be some secret squirrel ex military and also a Fed

Fucking hate that Dan Bilzerian idolizing BS mindset. Deck yourself out in 5.11, grow a big bushy beard, wear a olive drab scarf around, and tell everyone you're a military contractor when in reality you're just a sad little boy in a meathead body, hiding behind your guns and "alpha" appearance.

They always have a big beard too. I'll get downvoted but "beard culture" is a thing and IMO there's a huge correlation between insecure dudes and beards. Their beard becomes their identity. In this case he want his beard to say "I'm a really badass dude who probably is some sort of secret military hence my need for this testosterone infused beard of mine"

A lot of zoning is in place to protect the environment. So when someone builds without going through the zoning process there's absolutely the possibility that they have created an environmental issue.

Now i had no idea that environmental court was a thing....but I imagine this is what they are getting at.

There's the other flavor too... the one the patriot front folks like, with the cropped hair and clean-shaven storm-trooper vibe.

I can’t disagree that there are a bunch who are Neanderthals. But still - so important to support gun rights, regardless.

Can you recommend ways to support without associating with these types?

Yeah depends if they are openly white supremacies or closeted white supremacist

It was worth listening. Thanks for the link.

Gun Owners of Vermont is non partisan. Their president is a cool dude, a solidly decent person, definitely not a wacko righty.

Neat I’ll look into it

You know it. I used to be big into target shooting and taught a lot of people how to shoot. Never pretended to be any more than that and always found it funny how guys would be their lil paramilitary costumes and struggling to hit targets at 25 yards with rifles when I’m shooting pistols at 50-100.

This is why I stopped going to Laberges - too many downright scary dudes in GI Jackass cosplay with zero idea what they are doing. But hey they “built” an AR and I’m a fudd because some of my guns have wood stocks.

Same here, I refuse to go to ranges that aren’t monitored. I’m not dealing with people we’ve been drinking and don’t give two fucks about my safety. As I said I’ve told a lot of people how to shoot but the number one thing I teach them is gun safety and I also focus heavily on how a firearm is always your last option. I preach de-escalation, conflict avoidance and understanding that a gun is not a I win the argument button. And I got called a Fudd for having wood furniture on my rifle, that rifle is a Yugoslavian AK.

You and I would be friends

Are you familiar with sarcasm?