Stephen Colbert has caught the attention of the Proud Boys. The Late Show host was recently named in a statement from a lawyer for January 6 defendant Joseph Biggs, a Proud Boy; the attorney claimed that his client could not receive a fair trial in Washington, D.C., due to the January 6 hearings and “increased and unquestionably spectacular 24/7 negative press and media coverage”—citing Colbert’s late-night program as a specific example.
“You know, ladies and gentlemen, I do a lot of jokes about these violent fascists, but to hear that even one of them noticed? I feel so seen,” Colbert quipped on Wednesday night, breaking into his best misquoted Sally Field impression: “You hate me, you really hate me!”
Colbert then zeroed in on the Proud Boys leader, whom he described as looking like a “worst-case scenario David Cross,” adding that he could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted in his case. (Biggs has pleaded not guilty.) “Some of the folks being featured in the videos in these hearings are not happy about all the publicity,” he said, referring to Biggs. “By the time he gets out, this Proud Boy is going to be a proud member of the AARP.”
Colbert went on to address Biggs’s attorney’s claim that shows like The Late Show and Morning Joe “continue to saturate the jury pool of media-obsessive Washington, D.C.”
“They want to move the trial to some place where the Proud Boys have a better reputation,” Colbert said. “Like 1930s Berlin.”
“Of course, after we got this little shout-out, the article says, ‘Newsweek contacted Colbert’s representatives for comment,’” Colbert shared, before pretending to answer Newsweek’s request for comment: “While this is a very high-profile case, in our justice system, the accused is of course innocent until proven guilty. So I want everyone in the potential jury pool to hear me when I say, ‘You are going to jail, you neo-numbnut! And if you don’t like it, you can come and get me. My name is Joe Scarborough, and I love coffee! Welcome to the monkey house, brother.’”