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Stephen Colbert found Capitol riots more upsetting than 9/11: ‘No Americans were cheering for the terrorists back then’

Late night host described attackers as ‘homegrown terrorists on a jughead jihad’

Isobel Lewis
Tuesday 19 January 2021 10:38 GMT
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Stephen Colbert compares Capitol attacks to 9/11

Stephen Colbert has compared the attacks by “homegrown terrorists” on the US Capitol last week to the 9/11 bombings.

Appearing on The Late Show on Monday (11 January), the late night host discussed last Wednesday’s (6 January) riots in Washington DC, in which Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to disrupt Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election win.

The attacks left five people dead, with Colbert saying that the scenes made him “more upset than he could ever remember”.

“A lot of people have said to me since, ‘What about 9/11, Stephen?’ Well yeah, that is the most horrible day in America’s history, but I want to point out no Americans were cheering for the terrorists back then. No one was making excuses for the terrorists, no one was pretending that they weren’t terrorists.”

Colbert continued, describing the “professional level insurgency tactics committed by homegrown terrorists on a jughead jihad”.

“The terrorists who stormed the Capitol weren’t just a bunch of yahoos fed a steady diet of lies, vape juice and Monster energy drink. This was a coordinated and planned attempt to terrorise, if not kill, our nation’s elected leaders,” he said.

“And if any of you out there think it’s wrong to call these people terrorists, consider this: you’re wrong,” he said.

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