Tthere’s no shortage of loyalty to former President Donald Trump on display at this week’s Republican National Convention. But perhaps no one demonstrated it more fervently and dramatically than Peter Navarro, who arrived on the convention hall stage Wednesday night, just hours after serving a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress.
Navarro was greeted with thunderous applause and a standing ovation — the longest of any speaker so far since the convention began on Monday. “Yes, this morning I got out of a federal prison in Miami,” he said. “Joe Biden and his Department of Justice put me there.” His comments were met with cries of “Fight, fight, fight!” of the public.
Known for his unwavering loyalty to the former president, Navarro, who was a top trade adviser during the Trump administration, used his speech to promote Trump’s claim that he is a victim of political persecution. “If they can come after me — and if they can come after Donald Trump — be careful,” Navarro said. “They will come after you.”
“They didn’t break me,” he added. “And they will never break Donald Trump.”
Navarro, 75, was arrested in March for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was subpoenaed by the House committee on January 6 for his role in promoting false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election that led to the attack. Despite court rulings rejecting his claim of executive privilege, Navarro maintained that he did not need to cooperate.
“The J6 committee demanded that I betray Donald John Trump to save my own skin,” Navarro said. “I refused.”
Navarro became the first senior Trump administration official to be arrested for crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack. Longtime Trump adviser Steve Bannon reported to prison earlier this month to begin serving a four-month sentence on contempt of Congress charges.
“In Trump’s America, you didn’t have to worry about being arrested for disagreeing with the government,” Navarro said before inviting his fiancee onto the stage. “I went to prison so you don’t have to. I am your wake-up call.”
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
