Steve Bannon 'proud' to begin prison sentence for contempt of Congress

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Trump ally Steve Bannon says he's 'proud' to report to federal prison for 4-month contempt sentence

Steve Bannon addressed media outside a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, where he reported Monday to serve a four-month sentence, vowing he has a "First Amendment right to have my voice heard." (Credit: APTN)

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Trump, told reporters that he was "proud" to report to federal prison in Connecticut on Monday to serve a four-month sentence for contempt, for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. 

"I am going to prison. I’m proud to go to prison. I am proud of going to prison today," Bannon said at a press conference held with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., outside the Federal Correctional Institution Danbury. "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, I’m proud to do it."

Bannon also addressed a priest who came to the conference offering spiritual guidance. 

"Father, don’t pray for me. Pray for our enemies. They’re the ones who are going to need the prayers," Bannon said. 

"It's Nancy Pelosi and Merrick Garland that made me a martyr, but martyrs die, and I’m far from dead baby," Bannon said earlier, reminding supporters that Trump will be sentenced in his Manhattan hush-money case on July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

TRUMP ALLY STEVE BANNON FILES EMERGENCY MOTION SEEKING TO STAY OUT OF PRISON

Steve Bannon appears in court in New York, Jan. 12, 2023. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool, File)

"You can’t run a business from a federal prison. I have no intention to do anything with business, but I have a First Amendment right. I have a First Amendment right to have my voice heard, and my voice is going to be heard every day, and more importantly, their voices are going to be heard. You don’t need my voice, we’re a populous movement," Bannon said. 

Fox News later confirmed Bannon is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Danbury. 

For privacy, safety, and security reasons, the FBOP said the agency does not comment on the conditions of confinement for any individual in its custody. FBOP also does not release mugshots or intake photographs with the exception of incarcerated individuals who are actively on escape status.   

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington had allowed Bannon to stay free for nearly two years while he appealed, but he later revoked his bail and ordered him to report to prison by July 1 after an appeals court panel upheld his contempt of Congress convictions. The Supreme Court rejected his last-minute appeal to stave off his sentence.

In an emergency motion filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last month, Bannon’s new lawyer, R. Trent McCotter, accused the government of seeking "to imprison Mr. Bannon for the four-month period leading up to the November election, when millions of Americans look to him for information on important campaign issues," effectively barring him "from serving as a meaningful advisor in the ongoing national campaign."

A Danbury police officer stands guard at the Federal Correctional Institution Danbury where Steve Bannon is expected to report to begin his four-month sentence on July 1, 2024, in Danbury, Connecticut. 

"There is also no denying the political realities here. Mr. Bannon is a high-profile political commentator and campaign strategist. He was prosecuted by an administration whose policies are a frequent target of Mr. Bannon’s public statements," the motion said. 

A jury found Bannon guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition with the Jan. 6 House Committee, and a second for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement in Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., addresses the media at the Federal Correctional Institution Danbury where Steve Bannon is expected to begin his four-month sentence on July 1, 2024, in Danbury, Connecticut.  (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

JUDGE ORDERS STEVE BANNON TO REPORT TO PRISON

Defense attorneys have argued the case raises issues that should be examined by the Supreme Court, including Bannon’s previous lawyer’s belief that the subpoena was invalid because Trump had asserted executive privilege. Prosecutors, though, say Bannon had left the White House years before, and Trump had never invoked executive privilege in front of the committee.

Bannon's surrender deadline is the same day the Supreme Court will release its ruling in a case involving whether Trump is immune from prosecution for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

On Friday, the Supreme Court also ruled in favor of a participant in the Jan. 6 riot who challenged his conviction for a federal "obstruction" crime.

Former advisor to former President Trump, Steve Bannon, center, and attorney Matthew Evan Corcoran depart the courthouse on June 6, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Bannon’s appeal will continue to play out, and Republican House leaders have put their support behind stepping in to assert the House Jan. 6 committee was improperly created, effectively trying to deem the subpoena Bannon received to be illegitimate.

Another Trump aide, trade adviser Peter Navarro, has also been convicted of contempt of Congress. He reported to prison in March to serve his four-month sentence after the Supreme Court refused his bid to delay his sentence.

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Bannon is also facing criminal charges in New York state court alleging he duped donors who gave money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Bannon has pleaded not guilty to money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges. That trial has been postponed until at least the end of September.

Fox News' Seth Andrew and the Associated Press contributed to this report.