DANBURY, Conn. (AP) 鈥� Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon was taken into custody Monday after surrendering at a federal prison to begin a four-month sentence on contempt charges for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the .
Bannon arrived at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, around noon and was formally taken into federal custody, the Bureau of Prisons said.
Speaking to reporters, Bannon called himself a 鈥減olitical prisoner,鈥� said former President Donald Trump was 鈥渧ery supportive鈥� of him and slammed Democrats, including Attorney General Merrick Garland.
鈥淚 am proud of going to prison,鈥� Bannon said, adding he was 鈥渟tanding up to the Garland corrupt DOJ.鈥�
Shortly before he arrived to surrender, a small group of supporters, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, gathered on the side of the road outside the prison. They cheered as Greene and Bannon spoke during a news conference, holding up flags and signs supporting Bannon as a small group of protesters shouted, 鈥淟ock him up!鈥� and 鈥渢raitor!鈥�
The crowd was rowdy, often breaking into chants of, 鈥淯SA!鈥� A Biden supporter taunted Bannon by yelling 鈥渢raitor鈥� while Trump supporters tried to shout her down. Police had to stop traffic to allow the black SUV that Bannon was riding in to pull out of a church parking lot where Bannon鈥檚 supporters had gathered.
A judge had allowed Bannon to stay free for nearly two years while he appealed but ordered him to report to prison Monday after an appeals court panel . The his last-minute appeal to stave off his sentence.
A jury 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 the Republican ex-president鈥檚 efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Defense attorneys have argued the case raises issues that should be examined by the Supreme Court, including Bannon鈥檚 previous lawyer鈥檚 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鈥檚 appeal will continue to play out, and Republican House leaders have put their support behind stepping in to assert the Jan. 6 committee was improperly created, effectively trying to deem the subpoena Bannon received as illegitimate.
Another Trump aide, trade adviser , has also been convicted of contempt of Congress. He in March to serve his four-month sentence after the Supreme Court refused his bid to delay the sentence.
Bannon is also facing criminal charges in New York state court alleging he along the U.S.-Mexico border. Bannon has pleaded not guilty to money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges, and that trial has been postponed until at least the end of September.
__
Whitehurst reported from Washington. Associated Press journalist John Minchillo contributed to this report.
Susan Haigh And Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press
