Including Robert Smigel, seven staffers of the late-night talk show are detained at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C and are charged with unlawful entry.
- Jun 18, 2022
AceShowbiz - Several staff members of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" had a run-in with the law. According to a new report, the seven staffers, including Robert Smigel, were detained on Thursday night, June 16, for unlawful entry at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.
The U.S. Capitol police said in a statement to Fox News, "Responding officers observed seven individuals, unescorted and without Congressional ID, in a sixth-floor hallway." It added, "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 seven staffers, including Smigel, Jake Plunkett, Allison Martinez, Tyrone Dean, Stephen Romond, Nicoletta Green, Brendan Hurley, Josh Comers and David Feldman, were said to be taking pictures and video around the offices of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, and Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert from Colorado. They were arrested near Boebert's office and released overnight.
Meanwhile, CBS News confirmed the arrest in a statement to The Daily Beast. "On Wednesday, June 15 and Thursday, June 16, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was on-site at the Capitol with a production team to record interviews for a comedy segment on behalf of 'The Late Show'," it read.
"Their interviews at the Capitol were authorized and pre-arranged through Congressional aides of the members interviewed," it continued. "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."
The arrest came after Stephen Colbert joked he's happy that The Proud Boys, the right-wing extremist group that helped storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021, were mad at him over his jokes. He was referring to the jokes about the request by their indicted leader, Joseph Biggs, to have his trial moved to another jurisdiction.
"You know folks, I do a lot of jokes about the violent fascists. But, to hear that even one of them noticed? I… I feel so seen! You hate me, you really hate me," he told his audience. "They want to move the trial to some place where The Proud Boys have a better reputation. Like 1930s Berlin."
