Steve Bannon, a White House adviser during the Trump administration, turned himself in at a federal prison in Connecticut on Monday after a judge denied a request from Bannon to keep him out of custody while he appealed his case.
According to multiple outlets, Bannon arrived at Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury, in a black SUV around 11 a.m. ET and joined an impromptu rally on the side of the road before heading into the facility.
Addressing the small group of supporters and counterprotesters alongside Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Bannon referred to himself as a "political prisoner" and said former President Donald Trump was "very supportive" of him.
"I am proud of going to prison," said Bannon.
Greene said, "This is a political war."
Bannon was convicted of defying a congressional subpoena requesting documents related to a House investigation into riots at the U.S. Capitol. The committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol was largely rebuked by House Republicans.
In a document released Friday in the case of Bannon, Stephen K. v. United States, a justice wrote in a one-page order, "The application for release pending appeal presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is denied."
Related story: Judge denies Steve Bannon's request for release from prison pending appeal
In a similar case, Peter Navarro, a former White House official under the Trump administration, reported to federal prison in March after being sentenced to four months for contempt of Congress.
Bannon was the Trump administration's chief strategist in 2017.
Bannon was also indicted in 2020 as part of an alleged plot to defraud donors in a crowdfunding project known as “We Build the Wall” that raised more than $25 million. Before the case could go to trial, then-President Trump pardoned Bannon just one day before leaving office.
