Bannon to start alt-right ‘gladiator school’
STEVE BANNON, Donald Trump’s former political strategist, is to start enrolling candidates in a “gladiator school” for alt-right populists after winning a legal battle in Italy over the lease of an ancient monastery.
Mr Bannon and Benjamin Harnwell, his British assistant, were granted a 19-year lease on the 13th-century abbey in the mountains south of Rome.
However, the lease was rescinded last year by the Italian culture ministry, which accused the pair of failing to carry out promised improvements to the large complex.
That decision was overturned this week by a regional court in the nearby town of Latina, meaning Mr Bannon and Mr Harnwell can resume their plans to turn the Trisulti monastery into what they call the Academy for the Judeo-christian West.
Enrolments will begin on Monday and Mr Bannon, who has denied being a white nationalist, will be involved in courses that will cover politics, philosophy, history and economics.
“We stood by the monastery, the community and Italy during this pandemic when it would have been easy to walk away,” Mr Bannon said from Washington DC, where he is based.
The courses will initially be taught remotely, due to the coronavirus epidemic, but the aim is for the Trisulti monastery to host students from early next year.
Mr Bannon, a founder of Breitbart News, the alt-right news and commentary website, has been accused of being racist and a white supremacist.
He once famously said that “darkness is good. Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That’s power.”
“We’re very pleased with the court’s ruling,” said Mr Harnwell, a former political secretary to a Conservative MEP.
The culture ministry has announced it will appeal against the court’s decision to a higher tribunal.