Jon Bernthal 'Horrified' And 'Disgusted' By Capitol Rioters Wearing The Punisher Logo
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Punisher actor Jon Bernthal says he was horrified when he saw Capitol rioters wearing his character's logo earlier this year.
The image was sported by numerous people during the 6 January riot at the Capitol building, with the skull logo even spotted on US flags carried by those involved.
Bernthal, who starred as Frank Castle/The Punisher in the Netflix series between 2017 and 2019, told the Independent American's podcast he was 'disgusted' and 'horrified' when he saw the logo at the riot.
Speaking on the podcast earlier this year, he said: "How folks could have gone and done what they did on that day is just something I can't wrap my head around, and the fact that symbol is at all tied into that is something that I'm horrified by and disgusted with."
He went on to say: "It's all about flag-waving and rhetoric and bulls***.
"I truly believe that people who have walked the walk, people who have actually been in combat, people who have actually sacrificed, people who have really lost - you know, that's really what that symbol is about.
"And I think people who have been in that valley understand that it's about proximity - it's about coming together, not about drawing apart.
"And everything that happened on 6 January... all that was about was divisiveness and pushing people away."
This isn't the first time Bernthal has condemned those who wore the Punisher skull while rioting. Shortly after the incident, he took to Twitter to say those involved 'have nothing to do with what Frank stands for'.
Bernthal isn't the only person to distance himself from the rioters, either.
Comics writer Garth Ennis, who wrote for The Punisher in 2000, told SyFy: "The people wearing the logo in this context are kidding themselves, just like the police officers who wore it over the summer.
I'm with you. Beautiful work. These people are misguided, lost, and afraid. They have nothing to do with what Frank stands for or is about. Big love. J. https://t.co/Q4GpaGW3ek
- Jon Bernthal (@jonnybernthal) January 12, 2021
"What they actually want is to wear an apparently scary symbol on a T-shirt, throw their weight around a bit, then go home to the wife and kids and resume everyday life.
"They've thought no harder about the Punisher symbol than the halfwits I saw [on Wednesday], the ones waving the Stars and Stripes while invading the Capitol building."
