Don’t Feel Bad About Celebrating Bannon’s Loss In Court Yesterday— It Was Important For The Country

"Bannon's Wall" by Nancy Ohanian

Ever wonder why Bannon isn’t in prison? He was sentenced in October 2022 and his appeal failed last month. Finally, yesterday a federal judge, Carl Nichols, ended his stalling tactics and told him he has to report to prison by July 1. It should have been by 1pm. And 4 months is a joke. If society was interested in protecting itself from this arch-predator. I would be writing that he was just dragged in front of a firing squad and his ashes are being scattered at the Fort Totten Garbage Dump. That might act as a deterrent to other fascists and criminals. 4 months? I don’t think so.

It’s crucially important for the country that rich and powerful figures like Bannon be held to account when they break the law. It’s important that he be seen as not bring above the law. His defiance of the congressional subpoena was a direct challenge to legal and democratic processes and enforcing his sentence upholds the principle that such actions have consequences. 

His role in the J-6 insurrection and attempted coup were an assault on democracy, which is why I have advocated that he— and other plotters— get the death penalty. 4 months only invites more of this kind of behavior— and Bannon is, after all, a serial criminal who has shown ZERO remorse. Fact of the matter is, his refusal to cooperate with the House select committee investigating the attack was obstructing justice clear and simple and hindering efforts to fully understand and address the causes and consequences of that day. Ensuring Bannon serves even this pathetic sentence is a measure of justice for those involved in the attack and a deterrent, albeit a very, very weak one, against future attempts to undermine democratic institutions.

Remember, whatever we may think about Bannon, he is a prominent figure associated with far-right ideologies and strategies internationally so that even a short imprisonment is symbolic of a broader pushback against the politics of division and extremism that he represents. It’s part of the fight against the normalization of defiance and obstruction by those in positions of power. His case is also part of a larger context involving various legal challenges faced by Trump’s most vile associates, part of a necessary reckoning for actions taken during and after his occupation of the Oval Office that was so damaging to democratic norms and values and to teh very integrity of this country. Ensuring that Bannon begins his prison sentence is not just about punishing one disgusting individual but about reinforcing the principles of accountability, justice and the rule of law, one critical step in addressing the broader challenges posed by the actions of the Trump administration and its associates.

On top of that, the delay in his prison sentence was an example of white privilege, millionaire privilege— plus undue influence in high places. Bannon’s ability to delay his prison sentence for 2 years highlights disparities in a justice system that most Americans look at askance. People of color invariably face harsher and swifter penalties for lesser offenses This delay can only be viewed as indicative of systemic biases that favor white individuals within the legal system. Same when it comes to the very wealthy. Despite his appearance and smell, Bannon is a multi-millionaire with access to high-quality legal representation and the ability to navigate the appeals process more effectively than an average person. The super-rich, like Bannon, exploit legal mechanisms to their advantage, delaying or even avoiding consequences that others face more immediately. His ties to powerful political figures and his role in significant political events provided him with a level of protection and leniency that ordinary citizens just never receive.

Needless to say, Trump had a few words about the judge's ruling a couple of hours later. Nothing that will surprise you, unless you've been asleep for close to a decade. If that's the case, you'll think this is a deep fake instead of right from Trump's own social media platform:

That psychopath and his followers want him back in the White House. As for Bannon, always the martyr and showman, he also had a predictable reaction after the judge ruled yesterday: “There’s not a prison built or a jail built that will ever shut me up.” We'll see.