Steve Bannon’s imprisonment following a House subpoena defiance has stirred controversy among MAGA supporters, who criticize it as a sign of the judicial system’s failure in the U.S. Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of Congress charges and is allowed to appeal while serving the sentence.
In a post on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump expressed his views on Thursday afternoon, labeling the situation as “a Total and Complete American Tragedy” and placing the blame on President Joe Biden’s purportedly corrupt Justice Department.
“The unAmerican Weaponization of our Law Enforcement has reached levels of Illegality never thought possible before,” he wrote.
Congressman Matt Gaetz shared in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter: “It is with great sadness and anger that we observe the death of the judicial system in America. Steve Bannon sought judicial review of the illegal demands of a runaway congressional committee, unlike any ever comprised. It was literally a matter of first impression. And they’re sending him to prison – not just to torture him but to torture us.”
In October 2021, Bannon was found in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the January 6 House Committee. The government alleged that the Trump ally had consistently adopted a strategy of defiance and contempt from the time he was served with the subpoena.
“Steve Bannon is going to prison July 1st because he was held in contempt of Congress by the FAKE Jan 6th Committee that was set up by Nancy Pelosi against House rules,” Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted. “The DOJ is completely corrupt!!”
Gaetz revealed on Thursday that he had “begged” with congressional leaders to drop the contempt charges against Bannon and other former Trump administration figures, including Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino, and Peter Navarro. However, his requests were denied due to insufficient support from Republicans to approve the expungement.
“We need stronger leaders. November can’t come soon enough,” Gaetz said.
Several conservatives seized upon Bannon’s imprisonment to criticize the Biden administration for targeting only Republicans, claiming that individuals from other political affiliations who similarly defied congressional subpoenas were not subjected to prison sentences.
“A judge just sent Steve Bannon to prison for ignoring a congressional subpoena. Hunter did the same thing. No prison. Fauci lied under oath. No prison,” the popular right-wing account End Wokeness said.
“Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon has been ordered to report to prison by July 1 for ‘contempt of Congress,'” internet personality Nick Sortor tweeted. “Meanwhile, Merrick Garland REFUSES to prosecute people like Hunter Biden, who repeatedly LIED UNDER OATH to Congress. THE BIDEN DOJ IS TOTALLY CORRUPT.”
Podcast host Craig Chamberlin added: “When the left says ‘No one is above the law’, what they really mean is ‘None of our political enemies are above our laws’.”
In response to those claims, progressive political analyst Luke Beasley countered by highlighting that Judge Carl Nichols, who made the decision to revoke Bannon’s bail and instruct him to surrender to prison, was nominated by Trump in 2019.
“Hey MAGA, the federal judge who just ordered Steve Bannon to report to prison was appointed by Trump,” Nichols said.
