Before Jay Johnston Pleaded Guilty for Insurrection Melee, He Was in Epic Comedy Brawl

A few years ago, Jay Johnston was a favorite among comedy nerds for his hilarious work on Mr. Show with Bob and David and as Jimmy Pesto on Bob’s Burgers. But nobody’s laughing now as Johnston prepares to plead guilty to federal charges for his role in the January 6th insurrection. 

Johnston surrendered to the FBI last month after the Justice Department issued a warrant for his arrest. He agreed to plead guilty to taking part in a “group assault,” reports Deadline. Johnston faces several charges, including civil disorder, obstruction of law enforcement performing their duties, entering a restricted area and hampering the conduct of government business. 

Lucas Astrom, who directed Johnston in the movie Wing Dad, told The Daily Beast that he didn’t see it coming. “We had this great time shooting and then I saw that he was there (at the Capitol) and was like whoa… did not see that coming at all. I think we were shocked more than anything. It’s almost like going to a family dinner with people you’ve known for a while and then someone gets a little too drunk and starts talking crazy. You know what I mean?”

While there’s nothing funny about Johnston’s role in the January 6th crimes, comedy fans were quick to point out it wasn’t his first brawl. 

In Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Johnston played the chain-wielding first lieutenant to Wes Mantooth and his Evening News Team. After Burgundy and the Channel 4 News Team find themselves on enemy turf, Mantooth pulls out a switchblade and starts an epic rumble involving every journalism gang in San Diego. 

Saul Austerlitz, author of Kind of a Big Deal: How Anchorman Stayed Classy and Became the Most Iconic Comedy of the Twenty-First Century, pointed out the eerie parallels in the most comprehensive, thoughtful way possible — touching on the deeper themes in Anchorman that, no joke, relate back to the insurrection and guys like Johnston. “The horror of January 6th stemmed from the creeping belief that, for many of the participants in the chaos at the Capitol, sedition could be a hoot. If movies like Anchorman are about the antics of disaffected men finding comfort in the company of like-minded allies, January 6th was like the nightmarish inversion of those stories, with the presence of Johnston … serving as confirmation.”