Steve Bannon warns "MAGA army" is on stand by as he turns himself in
On Monday, July 1, Steve Bannon reported to a federal prison in Connecticut just before noon. However, before turning himself in, Bannon had a few choice words for the press.
As reported by the BBC, Bannon, standing outside the low-security prison where he will serve his time, spoke with conviction, saying, "I'm proud of going to prison today. I have not only no regrets, I'm proud of what I did."
Bannon, in an interview with the BBC, expressed his confidence in Trump's victory, stating that even though he wouldn't be around to support Trump during his campaign, he was unconcerned. He expects "a Trump victory" in November.
Bannon added that the "Maga army" was on standby, ready to jump into action to make sure that Donald Trump beats Biden in the presidential elections, ensuring Trump's return to the White House.
Bannon told the BBC, "I've served my country now for the last 10 or so years focusing on this," in reference to supporting Trump and the Maga movement. "If I have to do it in a prison, I do it in a prison - it makes no difference at all."
Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon is serving a four-month prison sentence for contempt, due to his defiant stance against a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection.
As reported by CNN, US District Judge Carl Nichols ruled on June 6 that Bannon must report to prison by July 1.
This decision was made after the Justice Department requested that Bannon begin his prison term, following a federal appeals court panel's decision to uphold his contempt of Congress conviction in May. Bannon's defiance of the subpoena has certainly captured the attention of many.
According to Fox News, Judge Nichols, who Trump appointed to the bench in 2018, said due to the appeals court's decision, he felt there was no longer any reason to pause Bannon's sentence.
Judge Nichols added that he held the power to lift the hold on the sentence despite the fact that an appeal of the conviction would continue.
However, Bannon requested a stay of the judge's order, in the hopes of pushing the surrender date back.
On June 6, outside the courthouse, Bannon told reporters, "I've got great lawyers, and we're going all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to."
However, as reported by The Guardian, on Friday June 28 the supreme court rejected Bannon’s appeal.
In a concise ruling on June 28, the Supreme Court directed Donald Trump’s former adviser to report to prison by July 1, rejecting his appeal of convictions for defying subpoenas related to the January 6 insurrection investigation.
As highlighted by CNN, Bannon also boldly claimed the Justice Department prosecuting him was about "shutting down the MAGA movement, shutting down grassroots conservatives, shutting down President Trump."
Bannon added, "There's not a prison built or jail built that will ever shut me up. We're going to win at the Supreme Court."
NPR reported that Trump made a social media post on June 6 in which he claimed the prosecutors were "desperate" to jail Bannon. Donald Trump went on to repeat his theory that the American justice system is persecuting Republicans over political motives.
Almost two years ago, Steve Bannon was convicted on two counts of
contempt of Congress. The first was because he refused to sit for a deposition with the Jan. 6 House Committee.
The second instance of contempt happened when Bannon declined to provide documents related to his involvement in Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.