‘You greasy grifter’: Steve Bannon heckled as he turns himself in on border wall fraud charges
Trump’s former adviser charged in connection to $25m We Build the Wall crowdfunding project
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Steve Bannon was heckled by protesters as he handed himself in at the Manhattan district attorney’s office in New York.
Donald Trump’s former White House adviser pleaded not guilty in court to state charges of money laundering, conspiracy, and fraud related to a border wall fundraising scheme.
“Stop hurting America,” one protester could be heard yelling at Mr Bannon, also branding him a “greasy grifter.”
Other people could also be heard hurling abuse at Mr Bannon as he turned himself over to authorities.
As he was led into court he shouted to onlookers: “They will never shut me up, they’ll have to kill me first!”
Following his court appearance, Mr Bannon was released without bail.
He has been charged over his connection to the We Build the Wall, a non-profit that raised around $25m to fund the construction of a wall along the border with Mexico.
Bannon faces between five and 15 years in prison if he is convicted.
The state charges mirror federal ones that were brought against Mr Bannon in 2020, for which he pleaded not guilty and received a last-minute pardon from Donald Trump before the one-term president left the White House.
But presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes and do not prevent state prosecutions.
“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 at a Thursday press conference.