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Steve Bannon, a former political aide to Donald Trump, reported to federal prison Monday to serve his sentence for defying a congressional subpoena for a House committee investigation into the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
Bannon told reporters at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, that he was a "political prisoner" and "proud of going to prison." He also blamed Democrats and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland for his four-month prison sentence.
Bannon was found guilty in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition with the House January 6 committee and a second for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement in the Republican ex-president's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
A judge permitted Bannon to remain free for almost two years as he appealed his case, but he was ordered to begin his sentence after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld his convictions in May. The Supreme Court rejected another appeal by Bannon on Friday, not allowing him to postpone serving his sentence any further.
It is expected that Bannon will appeal to the entire D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
A group of supporters congregated Monday outside the facility to which Bannon reported. U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was among those in support. On Sunday, Greene took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and referred to Bannon's imprisonment as a "DISGRACE to our country."
A group of protesters also arrived at the facility, shouting things such as, "Traitor!"
Defense attorneys believe the case should be brought before the Supreme Court, with Bannon's previous lawyer arguing that the House's subpoena wasn't valid because Trump had asserted executive privilege when he was president.
Prosecutors argue that executive privilege wasn't invoked in front of a committee and that Bannon was dismissed from the White House years prior to January 6, 2021.
Bannon was fired as Trump's chief strategist in 2017, seven months after the former president took office.
Republican House leaders are attempting to get the subpoena deemed illegitimate by claiming the House January 6 committee wasn't properly established.
Bannon is simultaneously facing criminal charges for allegedly swindling individuals who donated money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. He pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including fraud and conspiracy, in New York state court. The trial has been deferred.
Former Trump aide Peter Navarro was also issued a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress and reported to federal prison in March.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.