"Late Show" TV crew could face criminal charges after Capitol arrest
Actor and comedian Robert Smigel performs as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog outside the Jan. 6 House select committee hearing on June 16 at the U.S. Capitol. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
A TV crew filming for the "CBS Late Show With Stephen Colbert" was arrested Thursday night by the U.S. Capitol Police, the Associated Press reports.
Driving the news: After receiving a call for a disturbance around 8:30pm, police found seven people in the Longworth House Office Building. They were arrested and charged with unlawful entry.
- The crew had reportedly been escorted out of a hearing held by the congressional select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot because they did not have the proper media credentials, Deadline reports.
Details: “Responding officers observed seven individuals, unescorted and without Congressional ID, in a sixth-floor hallway,” Capitol police said in a statement, per AP. “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.”
- The incident is the subject of “an active criminal investigation, and may result in additional criminal charges,” the police statement said, AP reported.
The other side: In a statement, CBS confirmed its crew was at the Capitol on Wednesday and Thursday to record a comedy segment with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a puppet voiced by Robert Smigel.
- “Their interviews at the Capitol were authorized and pre-arranged through Congressional aides of the members interviewed,” CBS said in the statement, per AP.
- “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.”