FILE - Former White House strategist Steve Bannon poses prior to an interview with The Associated Press, in Paris, May 27, 2019. Bannon, a longtime ally to former President Donald Trump, was indicted Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, on two counts of contempt of Congress after he defied a congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

WASHINGTON — Former White House adviser Stephen Bannon was indicted Friday on two counts of contempt of Congress for not complying with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, an action that will put others refusing to cooperate with the inquiry on notice.

The move comes more than three weeks after the House voted to refer the matter to the Department of Justice. Bannon, 67, faces one contempt charge for refusing to appear at a scheduled deposition with the panel and another for not producing records.

Each charge carries a maximum one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Even if Bannon is convicted and jailed, that would not force him to disclose the information sought by the Jan. 6 select committee.

“Steve Bannon’s indictment should send a clear message to anyone who thinks they can ignore the Select Committee or try to stonewall our investigation: no one is above the law. We will not hesitate to use the tools at our disposal to get the information we need,” select committee Chairperson Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in a statement.

The subpoena identified 17 categories of “documents and communications” and told Bannon to appear before the panel on Oct. 14 for a deposition. Bannon did not do either.

“Since my first day in office, I have promised Justice Department employees that together we would show the American people by word and deed that the Department adheres to the rule of law, follows the facts and the law, and pursues equal justice under the law,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “Today’s charges reflect the Department’s steadfast commitment to these principles.”

By not cooperating with the Jan. 6 committee’s subpoena, Bannon was withholding information “critical” to its investigation, the panel said when it recommended contempt to the House.

The Department of Justice’s decision to charge Bannon, a former White House official in the Trump administration who was a private citizen on Jan. 6, bolsters congressional subpoena authority and could convince others who have been reticent to comply to do so, particularly those who were private citizens at the time of the insurrection.

The indictment points out that Bannon was a private citizen, who had not worked for the Trump administration or federal government since he left the White House as chief strategist and counselor to President Donald Trump in 2017. Bannon, through his lawyer, told the select committee he was unable to comply with the subpoena until executive privilege claims by Trump are resolved.

Unlike Bannon, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who has also refused to cooperate with the select panel by their Friday deadline, was not a private citizen at the time of the Capitol attack.

Thompson and Cheney said they are now compelled to consider contempt or other avenues to enforce the Meadows subpoena.

That could include a civil action brought against Meadows in his personal capacity.