Banjo Suspends All Operations in Utah Following OneZero Investigation

‘Banjo believes that any company working with the government should be subject to audits and oversight’

Surveillance company Banjo has suspended all of its operations in the state of Utah until its software is audited, following reactions to a OneZero investigation that revealed CEO Damien Patton’s past connection to white supremacist groups.

Documents unearthed by OneZero indicated that Patton had fraternized with neo-Nazi skinheads in his youth and participated in a shooting of a synagogue, according to his own grand jury testimony.

Following the OneZero report, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes announced that his office would suspend its $750,000 contract with Banjo and recommended that other agencies in the state pause using Banjo’s products until a third-party audit is performed. The same day, Utah’s department of public safety suspended its $20 million contract with Banjo as well. That contract had given Banjo access to data in up to 70 Utah cities. At least one additional Banjo contract was suspended in Indiana.