U.S. Capitol police said in a statement Friday that at approximately 8:30 p.m. Thursday, officers “observed seven people, unaccompanied and without congressional ID, in a sixth-floor hallway” Longworth House office building on Capitol Hill in Washington.
“The building was closed to visitors and it was determined that these people were part of a group that had been ordered by the USCP to leave the building early in the day,” the statement said.
Capitol police said the individuals were charged with illegal entry, adding that the matter is considered “an active criminal investigation” and that “it could lead to additional criminal charges after consulting with the United States Attorney “.
CBS said in a statement that its crew was at the Capitol on Wednesday and Thursday while filming a segment with “Triumph the Insult Comic Dog,” a puppet with the voice of comedian Robert Smigel. CBS said its production team’s interviews with members of Congress had been “authorized and arranged.”
The channel said that after the interviews ended on Thursday, the production team “stayed to film stand-ups and other final comedy elements in theaters when they were arrested by Capitol police.”
The incident, which occurs when the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds public hearings, was used by prominent right-wing media stars to attack the bipartisan investigation.
On Fox News, the channel’s prime-time hosts used the development to link Democrats to security breaches.
Most of the attacks focused on MP Adam Schiff, who in recent years has been portrayed as a right-wing villain. The Democrat from California, a member of the Jan. 6 committee and chairman of the House intelligence panel, took part Thursday in an interview with Colbert’s crew around 10 a.m., an aide said. from his CNN office. Schiff’s interview with Colbert’s team was many hours before the crew was arrested. While Fox News journalist Chad Pergram tweeted that it was someone other than a member of Schiff’s office who let the crew into the Longworth Building later in the day, the network repeatedly attacked Congressman. , with the hosts telling their millions of viewers that it had played a crucial role in the affair.
Fox News host Jesse Watters led a chyron, for example, on Friday that stated, “SCHIFF INVOLVED IN CHAPTER BREACH.”
Later in the evening, Tucker Carlson, who has repeatedly mocked the claim that an insurrection took place on January 6 and promoted conspiracy theories about the events of that day, claimed that the crew had “committed an insurrection “.
“It’s exactly like what happened on January 6, so we’ll take a closer look at what the punishments are,” Carlson said.
The graphics on the screen during Carlson’s coverage said “THE PENCIL SCHIFF ASSISTED THE COLBERT INSURRECTION” and “COLBERT PRODUCERS ENTER THE CHAPTER”.
Fox News was still covering the story aggressively on Saturday morning.
“We have to get to the bottom of it,” host Rachel Campos-Duffy told Fox & Friends Weekend.
Elsewhere in the right-wing media, coverage was similar. The headline on Breitbart’s homepage, for example, read: “ILLEGAL ENTRY! INSURRECTION? STEPHEN COLBERT’S STAFF ARRESTED FOR INFECTING THE US CHAPTER.”
It is unclear when the filmed segment could be aired on “The Late Show.”
A CBS spokesman declined to answer further questions about the incident. Colbert has not yet commented on the matter.