Steve Bannon and the Murderers and Hitmen Who Became His 'Besties'

"The adult-education program at Federal Correctional Institution Danbury needed a civics teacher. Conveniently, a new prisoner with a history of intimate involvement in American politics-inmate No. 05635-509-needed a work assignment. And that is how Steve Bannon, the man who stood accused of helping orchestrate an effort to undermine American democracy and to overturn a presidential election, found himself on the federal payroll making 25 cents an hour teaching civics to fellow convicts."

"Bannon's class met up to five days a week, with as many as 50 inmates showing up for the sessions. Whether that impressive attendance had more to do with Bannon's lectures or the sweltering summer heat is anyone's guess-the classes were held in one of the only buildings at Danbury with air-conditioning. In class, he taught the story of the American founding, referencing both The Federalist Papers and the writings of the anti-Federalists who believed that the Constitution gave the federal government too much power."

"The 70-year-old former chief strategist for Donald Trump had been found guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress. His crime: defying a subpoena and refusing to cooperate with the congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol. For four months, he would be housed in a two-story cellblock with 83 other men, all of whom shared two showers."

Steve Bannon served a four-month contempt-of-Congress sentence at Federal Correctional Institution Danbury and worked in the adult-education program as a civics teacher for 25 cents an hour. His class met up to five days a week and attracted as many as fifty inmates, meeting in one of the few air-conditioned buildings. Lessons covered the American founding, The Federalist Papers, anti-Federalist critiques, and complaints about the administrative state, the Federal Reserve, and the national debt. Bannon's decision to serve time rather than cooperate with the congressional January 6 investigation bolstered his standing within the MAGA movement.

Read at The Atlantic