Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon pleads not guilty to Mexican border wall fraud charge

Former top Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon has pleaded not guilty to charges that he and three others ripped off donors to an online fundraising scheme called We Build The Wall.

He made his plea in federal court after he was arrested on a yacht off the coast of the eastern state of Connecticut on Thursday.

Bannon had his hands cuffed in front of him and wore a face covering in the Manhattan federal court.

He rocked back and forward as he sat on a chair in a holding cell at the court, from where he appeared via video while his lawyers spoke on the phone.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Mr Bannon and three others “orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors” in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $25 million (£19 million) to build a wall along the southern border of the United States.

However Bannon allegedly took over $1 million, using some to pay co-defendant Brian Kolfage, the founder of We Build The Wall, and to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses.

Mr Kolfage is due to appear in federal court later on Thursday in Florida, while Mr Bannon is set to appear in federal court in Manhattan.

The other two defendants are due to appear in courts in the Middle District of Florida and Colorado.

Mr Trump quickly distanced himself from Bannon and said he knew nothing about the project, adding that he felt "very badly" about the situation.

He told reporters: “When I read about it, I didn’t like it. I said this is for government, this isn’t for private people. And it sounded to me like showboating.”

Attorney General William Barr said he knew of the investigation into Bannon months ago but did not say whether Mr Trump was aware.

Under the arrangement, Bannon and his co-defendants allegedly paid Kolfage $100,000 up front and an additional $20,000 every month, all while claiming they served as volunteers and that Kolfage was not paid.

The indictment said Kolfage “went so far as to send mass emails to his donors asking them to purchase coffee from his unrelated business, telling donors the coffee company was the only way he ‘keeps his family fed and a roof over their head’.”

Kolfage eventually spent some of the over $350,000 he received on home renovations, payments toward a boat, a luxury SUV, a golf cart, jewellery, cosmetic surgery, personal tax payments and credit card debt, according to the indictment.

Originally called We The People Build The Wall, the campaign launched in December 2018 and raised approximately $17 million in its first week.

Mr Bannon led the conservative Breitbart News before being tapped to serve as chief executive officer of Trump's campaign in its critical final months.

After the election, he served as chief strategist during the turbulent early months of Mr Trump's administration.

Mr Bannon, who served in the Navy and worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before becoming a Hollywood producer, has been hosting a pro-Trump podcast called "War Room" that began during the president's impeachment proceedings and has continued during the pandemic.