United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced the conviction of Jonathan Banyan for possessing ammunition after a felony conviction. On April 7, 2025, Banyan brought ammunition into the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse. The defendant was found guilty following a four-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.
“Everyone who enters a federal courthouse—judges and juries, lawyers and litigants, the press and the public—must know they are safe,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “This conviction sends a clear message: ammunition carried by a convicted felon should not be tolerated in our community, let alone in the court.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment and the evidence presented at trial:
On April 7, 2025, Banyan entered the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse wearing a backpack containing 18 bullets in three different calibers. As Banyan passed through the security station, court security officers spotted the bullets. Banyan attempted to hide them in his pocket but was stopped by court security officers who recovered the ammunition. Banyan has previously been convicted of a felony.
Banyan, 39, of Brooklyn, New York, was convicted of knowingly possessing ammunition after having been convicted of a felony, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Banyan is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2025.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for information purposes only; any sentencing will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Marshals Service and thanked court security officers for their assistance.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit with Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Mandilk, Ariana L. Bloom, and Nicholas S. Bradley leading it with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Samantha Roberts.
