The Most Dangerous Man in Vermont | Daniel Banyai | Ep. 452

He was called the most dangerous man in Vermont. The governor said it on television. The truth is more boring and more alarming. Daniel Banyai is a former protection contractor and a Seventh-day Adventist who built a firearms training school called Slate Ridge in West Pawlet. He did it by the book. Federal firearms license. Explosives permits. Zoning. A school classification the town had handed out for 200 years. He welcomed anyone who'd show up and shoot straight.

Then it came apart. Neighbors who'd missed their window found a clause and reopened it. The town pulled the permit it had already granted. He fought to the state Supreme Court and lost. They demolished the buildings while he was locked up and made sure the materials couldn't be reused.

We talk about the year inside. Isolation. The shot caller. Getting beaten during the arrest that became a felony. We argue restrictions, religion, and a two-tiered system he says protects some and not others. The through-line is simple. Weaponized zoning can erase anyone. He happened to pick guns.

Since we recorded, a jury acquitted him of the assault charge in forty minutes. His words after: the system did not fail him here.

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Timestamps:

[00:06:37] Ambiguity in Vermont law

[00:09:50] Background and training vision

[00:15:13] Building the Slate Ridge property

[00:17:47] Regional permit frustrations

[00:22:05] Claims about Vermont culture

[00:30:47] Licensing and compliance details

[00:47:12] Free training model explained

[00:56:29] Town hostility and public conflict

[01:03:05] Building permit clawback case

[01:11:06] Constable system and arrest

[01:20:48] Jail and prison treatment

[01:31:44] “Paramilitary” label and new law

[01:37:06] Public meetings and land controls

[01:49:06] Settlement pressure and demolition

[02:01:59] Surplus gear tangent and prison life

[02:15:25] Trial status and media disparity

[02:23:49] Gun-rights divisions and messaging

[02:35:07] Disputes inside gun advocacy

[02:48:44] Future plans after trial