WASHINGTON (AP) – Authorities arrested seven unauthorized individuals Thursday night inside the congressional office building and charged them with trespassing, U.S. Capital Police said Friday.
“People find themselves affiliated with CBS ‘Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” an acquaintance told the Associated Press.
Another person familiar with the matter provided the AP with a list of nine people who were intercepted by Capitol police. The voice behind Triumph The Insult Comic Dog includes several producers, including Robert Smigel.
The two men who spoke to the AP were unable to discuss the details of the investigation in public and spoke anonymously.
The incident took place on Thursday night, January 6, 2021, after the third public hearing of the House panel investigating the Capitol uprising.
Capitol police said they received a call about the disturbance around 8:30 pm in the Longworth House office building, “responding officers spotted seven people in the sixth floor hall without an escort and without a congressional ID,” the agency said in a statement. “The building was closed to visitors and these individuals decided to be part of a group. The USCP directed them to leave the building on that day.”
In a statement Hollywood ReporterThe CBS production team said it was in Capital to record a comedy section featuring Triumph on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
“Their interviews at Capital were authorized and pre-arranged by congressional aides of the members interviewed,” the network said. “After leaving the members’ offices for the final interview of the day, the production team continued to film stand-ups and other final comedy elements in the halls when detained by Capitol police.”
The USCP statement said the case “remains an active criminal investigation and could lead to additional charges.” Capital police, departing from standard practice, refused to provide the names of those arrested.