Steve Bannon's 'sham effort to build a wall' results in indictment after $15 million stolen

Former top Trump advisor, strategist, and campaign CEO Steve Bannon pleaded not guilty Thursday to money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges related to the “We Build the Wall” campaign.

Bannon was indicted Thursday after turning himself in at the Manhattan Supreme Court.

Here's a look at what Bannon, handcuffed and surrounded by officers had to say as they walked past reporters into court:

Bannon, 68, now faces the gravest criminal jeopardy of his turbulent career over allegedly ripping off Trump supporters rallying around one of the former president’s biggest applause lines: Building a wall on the southern border.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the four men “orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors.” The men were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, sentences that each amount up to 20 years in prison.

Bannon, who had a falling out with Trump before ending his tenure in the White House, evaded the 2020 charges when the former president pardoned Bannon on his last day in office.

Because presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes and not state offenses, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, in conjunction with the New York Attorney General’s office, are able to pursue a fresh round of charges against Bannon.

"The simple truth is that it is a crime to profit off the backs of donors by making false pretenses," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a press conference shortly after the arrest.

Bannon, who has fought the charges for more than a year, told reporters he plans to appeal the charges while entering Manhattan Criminal Court early Thursday.

Thursday's indictment comes just two months after Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress for his refusal to appear before members investigating the January 6 riot, with investigators saying he played a central role.

Despite Bannon’s alleged scheme to target and defraud millions from thousands of MAGA Trump voters, the far right is still defending him. Charlie Kirk, one of the most intimately-tied voices of the far right and religious right, called Bannon’s indictment “anarcho-tyranny.”