US Capitol Police arrested seven members of the ‘Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ crew in a Congressional office building on Thursday and charged them with unlawful entry. The CBS crew was filming material on the January 6 hearings, which themselves concern unlawful entry to the Capitol by supporters of former US President Donald Trump.
Capitol Police officers said in a statement that they received a call about a disturbance in the Longworth House Office Building on Thursday night, and found “seven individuals, unescorted and without Congressional ID” in an area of the building closed to visitors. The individuals, who had been asked to leave the building earlier in the day, were charged with unlawful entry, the statement continued.
An unnamed source told AP that several of the Colbert show’s producers were among those arrested, including Robert Smigel, who voices ‘Triumph the Insult Comedy Dog’ on the show.
CBS said that the group conducted “authorized and pre-arranged” interviews with members of Congress and stayed behind “to film stand-ups and other final comedy elements in the halls when they were detained.”