Steve Bannon, a prominent figure on the American Right who served as a senior strategist for former President Donald Trump, was sentenced by a judge on Friday to four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with lawmakers investigating last year’s US Capitol attack by a pro-Trump mob.

US district judge Carl Nichols during a sentencing hearing also ordered Bannon to pay a fine of $6,500.

Bannon was convicted by a jury in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to provide documents or testimony.

Each of the two counts was punishable by a minimum of one month and a maximum of one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

Prosecutors on Monday had asked the judge to sentence Bannon to six months in prison, while Bannon’s attorneys had sought probation.

Prosecutor J.P. Cooney said at Friday’s hearing that Bannon chose to “thumb his nose at Congress”.

He “is not above the law, and that’s what makes this case important”, Cooney said.