Steve Bannon arrested and charged with defrauding ‘We Build the Wall’ donors – live

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5.08pm BST

Steve Bannon was reportedly on a yacht off the coast of Connecticut when he was arrested today. Welcome to 2020.

NEW: Steve Bannon was taken into custody while aboard a 150-foot yacht off the coast of Westbrook, CT in the Long Island Sound, according to three law enforcement officials.

via @PeteWilliamsNBC

5.03pm BST

Though Donald Trump has distanced himself from We Build The Wall, the campaign has connections with other top Republicans and allies to Trump besides Steve Bannon. At one point, a prominent backer of the campaign said Trump had given his “blessing” to go forth with the privately constructed wall.

Here’s more from the Guardian’s Daniel Strauss:

The list of well known names associated with We Build the Wall goes far beyond the figure of Donald Trump’s former campaign manager and populist firebrand Bannon. The group’s website is a roll call of top figures in Republican and conservative circles.

It lists Kris Kobach, the former Kansas secretary of state and a prominent Trump cheerleader, as its attorney general. Bannon was the advisory board chairman. Erik Prince, founder of the private military contractor Blackwater USA, is a member of the organization’s advisory board. Former Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo, an icon in conservative anti-immigration circles, is also on the advisory board, as is former Milwaukee county sheriff Dave Clarke and former Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling.

Related: Steve Bannon’s arrest shines a light on web of anti-immigration conservatives

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