Trump ally Steve Bannon begins prison term for contempt

Influential Donald Trump ally, Steve Bannon, reported to prison on Monday, July 1 to serve a four-month sentence after he was convicted for defying a congressional subpoena from the committee that probed the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.

 

Bannon arrived at a low-security federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, and spoke to reporters amid a cheering group of supporters.

He called himself a "political prisoner" and said his right-wing populist followers would spread his message while he served his sentence.

 

"I'm proud of going to prison today," Bannon said. "I have not only no regrets, I'm proud of what I did."

After addressing the cameras, Bannon entered a dark-coloured SUV that drove into the prison complex.

Inmates in federal prison do not have access to the internet or social media, making it difficult for Bannon to communicate with fans of his "War Room" podcast.

 

His decision on Monday comes after he lost a last-ditch effort to stay out of prison when the Supreme Court rejected his request to delay his sentence while he exhausts the appeals process for his conviction.

 

He was sentenced to four months after being convicted in 2022 of two misdemeanour counts of contempt of Congress. He was charged after he refused to turn over documents or testify to a Democratic-led House of Representatives committee investigating the Capitol riot by Trump supporters who had sought to prevent congressional certification of Biden's 2020 election win.

 

Bannon was a key adviser to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and then served as his chief White House strategist in 2017. Former President Trump is the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election and Bannon's sentence might last till the start of the election.