Ex-Trump advisor Peter Navarro said he was put in handcuffs and 'leg irons' while being arrested at the Nashville airport on charges of defying the House January 6 committee

• Ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro was arrested on contempt of Congress on charges related to the Jan. 6 committee's probe.
• Navarro was taken into custody while attempting to board a plane at the airport in Nashville.

Former Trump advisor Peter Navarro said he was put in handcuffs and "leg irons" while being arrested after trying to board a flight at the airport in Nashville on Friday.

Navarro, 72, was indicted on charges of contempt of Congress on Friday after repeatedly defying the orders of the House Committee investigating the January 6 riot, per unsealed court documents.

On Friday, Navarro was taken into custody by authorities where he remained until he appeared in court for arraignment later the same day, the US Attorney's Office told NBC News. Following his initial appearance, Navarro described his arrest while talking to reporters outside the federal courthouse.

"They intercepted me gettin' on the plane and then they put me in handcuffs, they bring me here," the former Trump aide said. "They put me in leg irons. They stick me in a cell."

—The Recount (@therecount) June 3, 2022

Navarro went on to urge people to buy his book "Taking Back Trump's America" to fund his legal defense fund.

The January 6 House committee issued two subpoenas on Navarro related to the Capitol riot investigation. In response, he previously said he would "lead the charge" in subpoenaing current President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, members of January 6 committee, and other "clowns and kangaroos" if the Republican party wins the 2024 Presidential election.

"I will take Adam Schiff and Jamie Raskin and Nancy Pelosi and Elaine Luria and all of those clowns and kangaroos," Navarro said in an interview with MSNBC. "I'll take Biden and every single senior staff member in there, I will put them with subpoenas, and we'll start with the impeachment of Biden for Ukraine, the southern border, all manner of things he is guilty of."

The ex-Trump aide, who mostly advised the former president on trade policy and the pandemic response, publicly discussed his plot to overturn the 2020 election — dubbed the "Green Bay sweep" — which specifically focused on attempting to delay the certification of Biden's victory.

"The more likely scenario based on our assessment of the evidence was that states would withdraw any certification," Navarro told Rolling Stone. "And the election would be thrown to the House of Representatives. And even though the House is controlled by Democrats, the way votes would be counted in a presidential election decided by the House, Trump would almost certainly win."

The House select committee investigating the insurrection has planned to hold six hearings in June, Insider has learned.