Steve Bannon, a top ally of former President Donald Trump, reported to prison in Danbury, Connecticut, on Monday to begin a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas — a term he sought to paint as a political prosecution.
Bannon spoke to reporters outside the prison before he entered the prison grounds at noon.
“I am proud to go to prison. If this is what it takes to stand up to tyranny, if this is what it takes to stand up to the Garland corrupt criminal DOJ, if this is what it takes to stand up to Nancy Pelosi, if this is what it takes to stand up to Joe Biden, I’m proud to do it,” he said.
In the days leading up to his prison sentence, Bannon continued sowing doubt about Democrats' ability to win in November unless "they're stealing it," following a pattern of his spreading falsehoods about election security as he headed to prison.
Bannon reiterated to NBC News in an interview Saturday that he believes there is "no chance" Democrats will win November's election unless "they're stealing it."
Bannon has for years peddled false claims about the 2020 election and appears to be teeing up similar claims in case of a Democratic win this fall.
"The Democrats have no ability to win this unless they cheat," he said Saturday.
Bannon remained defiant over the weekend as he prepared to report to prison for four months. He was sentenced for defying subpoenas from the House Jan. 6 committee to testify for the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Bannon also said on ABC News' "This Week" over the weekend that "all bets are off" until November's election is "adjudicated and reviewed" when he was asked whether he would tell Trump supporters to respect poll results.
"Here’s the bottom line: When this is adjudicated and reviewed, if they are certifiable, chain-of custody-ballots and votes from American citizens, then hey, whatever that outcome is is totally fair. Until the time that we get that, all bets are off," he said.
Asked whether he would send the message of "no more violence," Bannon pushed back, arguing that "nobody can derive that we’re calling for violence."
Moments later, he defended his comments framing the political environment as "victory or death."
In the interview with NBC News, Bannon also said his end game was "victory or death of this republic."
He said he believes the "MAGA movement is shifting day by day farther right," arguing that "President Trump is a moderate in our movement."
"I think that’s the next phase of the MAGA — 'America first' was phase one," Bannon said. "'American citizens first' is phase two. And I think we’re going to go there, and I think there’s going to be huge political fights about that."
