Former economic adviser and close ally of Donald Trump Peter Navarro was sentenced on Thursday to four months in prison for obstructing congressional investigators who subpoenaed him to testify about the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, AFP reports.

Another former adviser to former US President Steve Bannon was already sentenced to four months in prison for the same crimes in 2022, but appealed.

On Thursday, Judge Amit Mehta handed down the same sentence to Peter Navarro, who has said he intends to appeal, and also fined him.

Peter Navarro was convicted in September on charges that he refused in February 2022 to attend and provide documents to the January 6, 2021 House Investigative Committee.

That day, hundreds of supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, the seat of the US Congress, in an attempt to prevent the confirmation of the victory of his opponent from the Democratic Party, Joe Biden.

Donald Trump was not prosecuted for these events, although the Commission of Inquiry on January 6, 2021 recommended in December 2022 that he be prosecuted, including incitement to rebellion and conspiracy against American institutions.

However, in August 2023, a federal court in Washington, D.C., and then courts in the state of Georgia (southeast), indicted the Republican for his alleged illegal attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The former president claims “absolute immunity” for his actions while in the White House, but Judge Tanya Chutkan in federal court in Washington in December rejected his appeal to stay the trial on that basis.

A federal appeals court in Washington is expected to rule in the coming days after hearing arguments from the defense and prosecution on January 9.