US House of Representatives votes for charges against Trump confidante Steve Bannon

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Steve Bannon in the White House (2017)

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Andrew Harnik / dpa

The US House of Representatives paved the way for criminal action against right-wing populist Steve Bannon for disregarding Congress.

The background is the reappraisal of the attack on the US Capitol on January 6th.

The Chamber of Parliament voted on Thursday to refer the case to the prosecutor.

229 MPs voted for it, 202 against.

Hardly any Republican joined the Democrats of US President Joe Biden and voted for it.

The committee of inquiry to investigate the attack had already unanimously adopted a report on Tuesday that found Bannon's disregard for Congress.

This cleared the first hurdle to bring this to court.

Now the Justice Department has to deal with the case.

Bannon could theoretically face up to twelve months in prison, but a fine would be more likely.

"He knew what was going to happen before it happened," Republican MP Liz Cheney said before the vote.

She is one of two Republican members on the committee.

"He's a bogeyman for the Democratic Party," said Republican Jim Banks, who is an ardent Trump supporter.

Radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in January when the election victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election on November 3 was to be certified there.

Five people were killed in the chaos.

To date, Trump has not recognized his electoral defeat against Biden.

The 75-year-old continues to spread the false claim that he was deprived of a second term through massive electoral fraud.

The right-wing populist, who is still very popular with the party base, repeatedly and publicly flirts with a possible candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.

sol / dpa / APF