DEVELOPING STORY: U.S. Capitol Police detained a production team Thursday night from “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
The network told The Hill in a statement that Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and a production team were at the Capitol both Wednesday and Thursday recording interviews for a segment.
The group took photos and videos near the offices of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), according to Fox News’s Chad Pergram.
The U.S. Capitol Police released a statement to Fox News, the network that first reported the incident.
On June 16, 2022, at approximately 8:30 p.m., U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) received a call for a disturbance in the Longworth House Office Building. Responding officers observed seven individuals, unescorted and without Congressional ID, in a sixth-floor hallway. The building was closed to visitors, and these individuals were determined to be a part of a group that had been directed by the USCP to leave the building earlier in the day. They were charged with Unlawful Entry. This is an active criminal investigation, and may result in additional criminal charges after consultation with the U.S. Attorney.
Fox News
“On Wednesday, June 15 and Thursday, June 16, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was on-site at the Capitol with a production team to record interviews for a comedy segment on behalf of The Late Show,” a CBS spokesperson said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Their interviews at the Capitol were authorized and pre-arranged through Congressional aides of the members interviewed. After leaving the members’ offices on their last interview of the day, the production team stayed to film stand-ups and other final comedy elements in the halls when they were detained by Capitol Police.”
Fox News reports the “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” team applied to get press credentials for the Jan. 6 hearing, but the House Radio/TV Gallery rejected the request because they are not considered “news.”
So the question is whether those arrested will be treated as insurrectionists. Will they suffer the fate of the trespassers who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6th? Will they be held for more than a year without bail in squalid conditions inside the D.C. jail?
Will the lawmakers who initially escorted the Colbert team into the Capitol be summoned before a House Committee? Will the FBI storm Colbert’s home in a pre-dawn raid with CNN cameras pre-positioned on the front lawn?
Don’t hold your breath, America.