Former Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon received a four-month prison term Friday for refusing to testify in the congressional probe of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.
The longtime Trump strategist was earlier greeted by protesters yelling "Traitor" Fascist!" as he arrived at the federal courthouse in Washington.
Bannon struck a defiant tone, telling reporters: "Remember, this illegitimate regime, their judgment day is on 8th of November," in reference to the coming congressional elections.
He later appeared in the courtroom, dressed in his trademark multiple-layered collared shirts, chatting with his attorneys and going through his phone before the sentencing hearing commenced.
One of the masterminds behind Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and victory, Bannon was found guilty in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena to testify over the riot at the Capitol by the former president's supporters.
The Justice Department has urged a six-month sentence for the rare charge, saying in a filing late Thursday that, rather than cooperate with the court, he "affirmatively frustrated a congressional investigation of great national importance."
It rejected Bannon's request for a sentence of mere probation.
Bannon was fined $6,500, and was permitted by the judge to remain free while he fights what his lawyer vowed would be a "bulletproof" appeal.
Bannon, who currently runs a streaming political commentary website, earlier this week asked the court to place a stay on the implementation of any sentence while his appeal of the original verdict goes ahead.
"Mr. Bannon respectfully asserts that a sentence of incarceration would violate his constitutional rights," his submission said.
Federal Judge Carl Nichols said Trump had never asserted executive privilege in Bannon's case and that the events of Jan. 6 needed investigating.
"The events of January 6th were undeniably serious," Nichols said before pronouncing the sentence.
"The January 6 committee thus has every reason to investigate what happened that day."
In addition, he said, Bannon did not even cooperate with the committee on issues not touched by possible executive privilege.
Bannon has "not produced a single document... and has not provided any testimony on any topic," he said.
The investigation by a special House committee has depicted Bannon as knowing in advance of the plan by hardline Trump supporters to attack the Capitol on January 6 to prevent Democrat Joe Biden from being confirmed as the next president.
It also showed him advocating for Congress to block Biden – who defeated Trump in the November 2020 election – from becoming president.
"The rioters who overran the Capitol on January 6 did not just attack a building – they assaulted the rule of law upon which this country was built and through which it endures," the Justice Department told the court in its sentencing memo.
"By flouting the Select Committee's subpoena and its authority, the defendant exacerbated that assault."
Bannon served in the White House for the first seven months of Trump's term as chief strategist, leaving reportedly due to conflicts with other top staffers.
In 2020, Bannon was charged with wire fraud and money laundering for taking millions of dollars for personal use that donors had contributed for the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico.
While others were found guilty in the scheme, Trump issued a blanket pardon for Bannon before leaving office in January 2021, leading to the dismissal of the charges against him.
