Stephen Colbert Staffers Busted for Trespassing on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON — 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,

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

The statement from the department said the same group had been escorted from the Jan. 6 committee hearing hours earlier because they lacked proper press credentials.

The “Late Show” staffers had  reportedly applied to get press credentials for the hearing but were denied by the House Radio/TV Gallery because they are not considered to be working for a news organization.

In a statement a spokesperson for CBS said the “Late Show” production team was working on Capitol Hill Wednesday and Thursday, recording interviews with various House members for a segment of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

The staffers stayed in the building “to film stand-ups” in the hallway when Capitol Police detained them, the network said.

Among those interviewed were Reps. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

It has been reported that it was an aide to Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass, who let the crew back into the building after they were booted from the Jan. 6 hearing, believing they had more interviews with members scheduled.

That prompted a stern response from Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., who said via Twitter, “This needs to be investigated, along with any Democrat staffers who may have facilitated law-breaking.”

The Capitol Police appeared to agree.

“This is an active criminal investigation, and may result in additional criminal charges after consultation with the U.S. Attorney,” the department’s email to The Well News said.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue