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By Ewan Palmer and Michael D. Carroll
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Steve Bannon has said that he is more "empowered" to campaign for Donald Trump hours after his release from prison.
Bannon, a former Trump White House chief strategist, made the remarks on his War Room podcast on Tuesday after serving his four-month prison sentence.
The influential MAGA figure was freed from the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, at around 3:15 a.m. local time, a spokesperson for Bannon told Newsweek.
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Bannon began his four-month prison sentence on July 1 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.
Bannon 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."
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Bannon was released from prison as the 2024 election between Trump and Kamala Harris enters its final week. Polls show that the race is neck-and-neck and could go either way.
Bannon is one of the most influential figures of the MAGA movement, in part due to his War Room podcast. He will also be looking to campaign on behalf of Trump in the final week of the election.
Elsewhere on his first appearance back on War Room, Bannon discussed the plans so the Democrats "cannot steal the election."
This includes focusing on ensuring people vote on November 5, and going up against Marc Elias, a longtime lawyer for the Democratic National Committee and founder of the progressive voting rights platform Democracy Docket.
Elias and Democracy Docket have been fighting dozens of election and voting lawsuits filed by Republicans and their affiliates. Democrats have accused these lawsuits of laying the groundwork for Trump and the GOP to dispute the 2024 results in a result of a Harris victory.
"We have two things we're going to talk about today; the 'get out the vote' effort, which is November 5," Bannon said. "Then the second is to make sure that they cannot steal the election with Mark Elias and others of the 'Nullification Project' that they're bringing in, which goes from November 5 all the way to Inauguration Day."
Bannon is scheduled to deliver a news conference in Manhattan, New York City, later on Tuesday.
Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who also served a four-month prison term after being found guilty of two counts on contempt of Congress, said Bannon would be "laser-focused on getting people to the polls" following his release from prison.
"He'll do that broadcasting the show, and he will reach a lot of people with the message of how important this election is," Navarro told The New York Times.
A number of MAGA figures, such as Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, have hosted War Room while Bannon served his time in prison.
War Room has seen its audience and listenership dwindle in Bannon's absence, including falling out of Apple political podcast charts.
On Monday, Natalie Winters, one of War Room's podcast guest hosts, said that the "great MAGA reset" will begin when Bannon returns to the show.
"But let's be very frank, tomorrow is not a day for celebration. It's not a victory," Winters said.
"Think about what they took from you for the last four months. It's a day of righteous indignation, because, to quote a little document, when, in the course of human events, a regime throws Stephen K. Bannon in prison, whose only crime was putting America first, you look that regime in the face and you vote them the hell out."
Update, 10/29/2024, 11:02 a.m.: This article has been updated with new head and additional information.
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