Colbert Addresses Staff Arrests in Capitol Hill Building

WASHINGTON — “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert used his monologue on Monday night to address the arrests of members of his field production crew last week after they were found filming in a House office building without permission or proper credentials.

As previously reported by The Well News, seven staffers from “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” were arrested Thursday night for allegedly trespassing in a congressional office building near the U.S. Capitol.

In an email to The Well News, U.S. Capitol Police said that at about 8:30 p.m. on June 16, they received a call “for a disturbance in the Longworth House Office Building,” which houses offices for members of the House of Representatives.

Upon investigation, they found the “Late Show” employees “unescorted and without Congressional ID” in a hallway on the sixth floor of the building.

According to CBS the staffers had stayed in the building “to film stand-ups” in the hallway when Capitol Police detained them.

All seven were charged with unlawful entry, according to the Capitol Police.

“This is an active criminal investigation, and may result in additional criminal charges after consultation with the U.S. Attorney,” the Capitol Police said over the weekend.

At the top of his opening monologue, Colbert started on a light note, asking his audience about their weekend, before acknowledging his had been “interesting … because some of my staff had a memorable one.”

He then went on to explain that Triumph the Insult Comic Dog had “offered” to travel to Washington to interview members of Congress to highlight the ongoing Jan. 6 hearings.

“I said, ‘Sure, if you can get anyone to agree to talk to you. Because, and please don’t take this as an insult, you’re a puppet,’” Colbert joked.

“After they finished their interviews, they were doing some last-minute puppetry and jokey make-em-ups in a hallway, when Triumph and my folks were approached and detained by the Capitol police — which actually isn’t that surprising,” Colbert said.

“The Capitol police are much more cautious than they were, say, 18 months ago, and for a very good reason,” he continued, alluding to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. 

“If you don’t know what that reason is, I know what news network you watch,” he quipped.

With that, Colbert turned more serious.

“Drawing any equivalence between rioters storming our Capitol to prevent the counting of electoral ballots and a cigar-chomping toy dog is a shameful and grotesque insult to the memory of everyone who died,” Colbert said.

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