Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to President Donald Trump, surrendered to federal authorities on Monday to begin serving a four-month prison sentence. Bannon arrived at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, around noon, where he was formally taken into custody.
The imprisonment stems from Bannon’s conviction on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The committee sought Bannon’s communications with former President Trump following the 2020 presidential election.
Before entering the prison, Steve Bannon addressed the media, declaring he was “proud” to go to prison if it meant standing up against what he called tyranny and corruption within the Department of Justice. He also criticized Attorney General Merrick Garland, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and President Joe Biden.
“I am proud to go to prison. If this is what it takes to stand up to tyranny. If this is what it takes to stand up to the Garland corrupt, criminal DOJ, if this is what it takes to stand up to Nancy Pelosi, if this is what it takes to stand up to Joe Biden, to Joe Biden, I’m proud to do it.”
Bannon’s legal team exhausted all possible delays and appeals, including an emergency request to the Supreme Court, which was rejected. The 70-year-old is expected to serve his full four-month sentence, likely being released before his 71st birthday in late November.
The Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury is a low-security facility housing fewer than 1,200 inmates, many of whom are white-collar criminals. During his incarceration, Bannon will have limited access to the internet and restricted communication with the outside world.
Former President Trump reacted to Bannon’s imprisonment in a recent interview, calling it “weaponization” and predicting political consequences for the Biden administration. Trump claimed the intent was to silence Bannon, but insisted it would not succeed.
“What they’ve done in this country is unthinkable, and Biden is going to pay a big price for it, I believe,” Trump says to John Reid on the Richmond’s Morning News. “Because I think that people are going to say, well, wow, you’ve opened up a Pandora’s Box. It’s a terrible thing that they’ve opened up.
They’ve unleashed this. This is the third world countries. No, they wanted to silence Steve Bannon, and the only the way they could do it was by putting him in jail.”
In the days leading up to his imprisonment, Steve Bannon maintained a busy schedule, continuing to host his podcast and meeting with mainstream media reporters. He expressed confidence that his influence would grow during his time in prison, stating, “I’m going to be more powerful in prison than I am now.”