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Stephen Colbert of CBS’s ‘The Late Show’ recently took a swing at Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, accusing him and his wife Martha-Ann of Nazi sympathies. The evidence? Martha-Ann Alito’s upside-down flag demonstration in response to a neighbor’s incivility.

Colbert made the jump from Justice Alito’s just and unbiased evaluation of January 6th cases to a supposed soft spot for lawlessness, like someone seeing an umpire wearing a team jersey and concluding he’s biased. He reported Justice Alito’s disassociation from his wife’s flag display decision without a hint of understanding that, in a marriage, independent decisions are possible.

Keeping his steamy monologue rolling, Colbert interpreted Martha-Ann Alito’s flag protest – ignited by a neighbor’s offensive behavior towards her and her husband- to be in alliance with the rioters. The irony here is in Colbert blaming the Alito family instead of focusing on the neighbor, who flung suggestive and vulgar verbal slurs at Martha-Ann. What would have been an issue of neighborly respect turned into a blown conspiracy theory linking Justice Alito, his wife, and the Capitol rioters.

Colbert did acknowledge the flag display was spurred on by a neighbor’s offensive sign and distasteful comments to Mrs. Alito, but then abandoned reason by trying to tie the Alitos’ response to an endorsement of rioters as a way to retaliate against their neighbors. So, according to Colbert, when someone slings derogatory comments towards you, responding with an equally strong visual protest is off-limits?

In an ideal world, Colbert hoped Justice Alito — upon coming home from work — would take the flag down instantly, to preserve his reputation perhaps. He then revealed that the flag stayed on display for a few days, an implication suggesting that Justice Alito condoned the act, even though he, like everyone else, has a life outside keeping an eye on home 24/7.

Mr. Colbert insists on pegging Justice Alito as a Nazi sympathizer, all whilst trying to play the role of a harmless jester. Attacking pillars of our justice system in the name of a punch line does nothing but delegitimize the very values our nation was built upon: free speech, rational discourse, and the rule of law.

In the end, this is not simply about Martha-Ann Alito’s protest or what her husband did or didn’t do. The real issue is the emboldened disheveling of our democratic institutions for the sake of a joke, a trend that’s far less amusing when scrutinized in the light of the potential harm it could wreak on our society.

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