Steve Bannon Opens Up About Life Behind Bars: 'Drugs, Drones and Despair'
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon has opened up about his experience of prison, saying illicit drug use was widespread, contraband was delivered by drone, and a sense of hopelessness pervaded inmates.
Bannon, who served time for contempt of Congress, was speaking of his life inside the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, in a recent interview with former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz on his Anchormen podcast.
Newsweek contacted Bannon via his podcast email and the Bureau of Prisons via email on Friday outside of usual working hours for comment.
Why It Matters
Bannon began a four-month prison sentence on July 1, 2024, after he was found guilty in 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to respond to a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol. He was released in October.
What To Know
Speaking to Gaetz about his observations in prison, in a video shared on Gaetz's online accounts, Bannon talked about witnessing drones dropping packages into the prison yard, allegedly containing narcotics like 'K2', a synthetic marijuana drug.
"I would say that a third comes in from drones," Bannon said, "which is crazy to think about, it's unbelievable. They had a drone come in on the beginning of Labor Day weekend that dropped phones and drugs down in the yard. They locked the yard down, then they locked us all down for Labor Day."
Political strategist Steve Bannon speaks during the Semafor World Economy Summit 2025 at Conrad Washington on April 23, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Bannon has recently spoken out about his time in federal prison.
Political strategist Steve Bannon speaks during the Semafor World Economy Summit 2025 at Conrad Washington on April 23, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Bannon has recently spoken out about his time in federal prison.Bannon also claimed that the drug "can come in on paper, on legal documents, on books. People send them books, and they got it on there in prison; you can get anything you want. They get phones, they get drugs in there. "
Beyond the contraband issues, Bannon highlighted the psychological toll on inmates, noting that being confined for years can "break a person."
"These kids are 25 years old, Hispanic and Black," Bannon said. "Principally, they are in prison for 15, 20, and 25 years in a small place like Danbury. So in Danbury, which is 100 years old, accommodation for 800, I think we had 1,200 at one time there because of so many foreign nationals and child molesters.
"It's so overcrowded, these young men get there, they have 20 years of their life [that] are gonna be spent in the confines of Danbury prison, that's hard. It was hard for me for four months, for 25 years, when you're 25 years old, it can break a person.
"And what they do is they start doing this drug K2 that can get into the prisons, and once that happens, they're violent, uncontrollable, and that can happen at any time.
Bannon emphasized what he sees as a lack of rehabilitative programs, stating, "The federal prison system is set up to break families, and these people, I'm telling you, the Black and Hispanic men in those prisons don't support the Democratic Party. I think the Democratic Party is screwed."
What People Are Saying
As reported by Newsweek, Bannon previously described himself as a "political prisoner" who was sent to federal prison by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to "break" him. "The four months in federal prison, not only didn't break me, it empowered me," Bannon said. "I am more energized and more focused than I've ever been in my entire life, and I can see clearly, just like in 2016 and in 2020, exactly what's going on here."
Reposting the video on his X page, Gaetz simply commented: "Wow."
What Happens Next
Since his release last year, Bannon has positioned himself as a vocal critic of the current justice system and has looked at prison reform. He continues to assert that his imprisonment was politically motivated and has vowed to remain an active figure in politics.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump announces EU trade deal that sees 15% flat tariff for products coming to US
Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with the European Union Sunday that will cut tariff rates down to 15 percent on imports from the trade bloc, while US exports will be tariff-free. The president spoke alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his Turnberry golf course in Scotland as he announced the news. 'All of the countries will be opened up to trade with the United States at zero tariff [for U.S. exports],' Trump told reporters, shaking von der Leyen's hand. 'We are agreeing that the tariff straight across for automobiles and everything else, will be a straight across tariff of 15 percent. So we have a tariff of 15 percent; we have the opening up of all of the European countries, which I think I could say [those markets] were essentially closed,' said the president. He also touted a number of impending EU investments, including a purchase of military materials. Von der Leyen confirmed: 'It is 15 percent tariffs across the board.' 'We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,' said the European Commission president. The announcement comes ahead of the Trump administration's planned August 1 deadline for enforcement of the president's so-called 'reciprocal' tariffs. Trump had threatened to hike that rate to 30 percent in a letter this month. Asked about U.S. concessions in the deal, and the apparent imbalance of the U.S.-E.U. tariff rates going forward, von der Leyen cast the agreement as meant to address existing issues, and told one reporter: 'The starting point was an imbalance, a surplus on our side and a deficit on the U.S. side.' The president briefly answered questions from reporters, though he claimed not to hear one about his deputy attorney general (and former personal attorney)'s meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, imprisoned accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein. He also claimed to have told the respective leaders of Cambodia and Thailand that the two countries needed to cease armed clashes along their respective borders in order to secure trade agreements with his administration. The president would go on to complain that the U.S. was not sufficiently praised for its investment in the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-led effort to provide aid in Gaza that appears to have utterly failed to avert widespread famine and has long been labeled an effort by the Israeli government to save face by its critics. Further information about the agreement was not immediately released by the White House, either to pool reporters or through other media channels. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US expects to result of probe into chip imports in two weeks
TURNBERRY, Scotland (Reuters) -The Trump administration will announce the result of a national security probe into imports of semiconductors in two weeks, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday, without providing details. Lutnick told reporters after a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the investigation - which is expected to result in tariffs on chips imports - was one of the "key reasons" the EU sought to negotiate a broader trade agreement that would "resolve all things at one time." Trump said many companies would be investing in semiconductor manufacturing in the United States, including some from Taiwan and other places, to avoid getting hit by new tariffs. Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
13 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Trump strikes a deal with the EU on tariffs
The US and the EU reached a trade deal on Sunday after negotiations in Scotland between President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The deal sets 15% tariffs on most European goods imported to the United States, a significant reduction from the 30% Trump had threatened earlier, but more than the 10% the EU originally sought. In return, Trump said the EU would ramp up investments in the United States. "The European Union is going to agree to purchase from the United States $750 billion worth of energy," Trump told reporters. "They are going to agree to invest into the United States $600 billion more than they're investing already." The EU also agreed to purchase a "vast amount" of military equipment from the US. "I think it's the biggest deal ever made," Trump said. There are some exceptions to the 15% tariffs, including steel, which Trump said would remain at the 50% he earlier set for all countries worldwide. The agreement comes days before August 1, when the Trump administration's tariffs will go into effect for numerous countries, some of which could face levies as high as 50%. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that there would be no more extensions and that tariffs would go into effect on August 1 as planned.
