Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist to Donald Trump, reported to federal prison to begin his four-month sentence for contempt of Congress after he defied a House Committee subpoena related to January 6 investigations, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Bannon, 70, said he was "proud of going to prison" outside of the low security correctional facility on Monday, July 1.
Bannon was convicted in July 2022. He was sentenced to four-months behind bars and fined $6,500. He will serve his sentence in Danbury, Connecticut.
Despite his checkered past, the former White House chief strategist turned podcaster has remained popular among Trump supporters, as well as several Republican lawmakers, who joined him for a roadside news conference before he reported to prison on Monday.
"I am proud of going to prison today," Bannon told reporters. "If this is what it takes to stand up to tyranny; if this is what it takes to stand up to the [Attorney General Merrick] Garland corrupt criminal DOJ; if this is what it takes to stand up to [former House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi; if this is what it takes to stand up to Joe Biden — I’m proud to do it."
"It’s Nancy Pelosi and Merrick Garland that made me a martyr right? But martyrs die and I’m far from dead baby," Bannon added. "MAGA is on the rise."
Following Bannon's remarks, a Catholic priest from a retreat house in Ridgefield said he would pray for the podcaster.
"Father, don’t pray for me. Pray for our enemies," Bannon replied. "They’re the ones who need prayer."
Before he turned himself in, Bannon noted, "We either win, or you’re gonna have the death of a constitutional republic. Everybody here, you’ve got to step into the breach."
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene chimed in, "It's a political war, and it's a political persecution, and it shouldn't be happening," as the crowd chanted, "Trump won."
Before reporting for his federal prison sentence, Bannon told ABC News that he was "a political prisoner."
The podcast remained defiant as he stated incarceration "won't change me. It will not suppress my voice. My voice will not be suppressed when I'm there."
Bannon is one of two former Trump aides to be convicted of contempt of Congress for defying the House Committee's January 6 subpoena.
Peter Navarro is currently severing his four-month sentence in Miami, Florida, and is expected to be released on July 27.
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Bannon attempted to appeal the verdict, but on May 10, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld his conviction.
On Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts rejected an emergency request to postpone Bannon's sentence while the podcaster continued to appeal his conviction.
Bannon's lawyer argued that he will have served his sentence before the court reaches a decision on the appeal.