On June 6, 2024, a federal judge ordered former Trump advisor Steve Bannon to report to prison by July 1.

Throughout his appeal, Bannon’s four-month prison sentence was placed on hold. Bannon’s sentence stems from a 2022 conviction on contempt of Congress charges for ignoring a subpoena issued by the January 6 committee. 

A federal appeals court ruled in favor of the conviction in May, which propelled the Department of Justice (DOJ) to petition the district court judge who issued the sentence to order Bannon to surrender to prison.

Judge Carl J. Nichols was appointed by former President Donald Trump. He sentenced Bannon to four months of prison time in October 2022. On June 6, Nichols ended up granting the prosecutors’ motion to mandate Bannon to serve the sentence.

In a similar vein, former Trump advisor Peter Navarro is serving a four-month prison sentence for being contempt of Congress, which commenced in March.

“They’re not going to shut up Trump, they’re not going to shut up Navarro, they’re not going to shut up Bannon, and they’re certainly not going to shut up MAGA,” Bannon said in remarks outside the courthouse. “There is nothing that can shut me up and there is nothing that will shut me up.”

“There’s not a prison built or jail built that will ever shut me up,” Bannon added.

America is at a nadir in its history. Its ruling class is pursuing Banana Republic-style persecutions of dissenting political figures. Such measures threaten the country’s institutional instability and could result in its eventual unraveling if coolers don’t prevail.