Leer en Español
Nine staffers and producers for the Stephen Colbert Show were arrested at the U.S. Capitol for attempting to breaking into a House building after-hours. Fox News’ Chad Pergram confirmed the news on Friday.
“Fox confirms that group of persons associated with The Late Show Stephen Colbert were arrested last night and charged with illegal entry to House office buildings after hours,” Pergram wrote on Twitter. “Fox is told the people were arrested in the Longworth House Office Building.”
“The group was in the Cannon House Office Building earlier in the day trying to get interviews around the time of the 1/6 committee hearing,” Pergram continued. “However, USCP shooed them away because they did not have proper press credentials.”
“However, the group surfaced later that night after the Capitol complex was closed to the public Fox is told they took pictures and video around the offices of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO),” the report added. “They were unescorted and arrested and charged with illegal entry. They were arrested near Boebert’s office. They were released overnight. Fox has confirmed the arrests of these nine persons through a senior House source.”
The following were arrested, per the report. (This updates the list to nine total.)
- Jake Plunkett
- Allison Martinez
- Tyrone Dean
- Stephen Romond
- Nicoletta Green
- Brendan Hurley
- Robert Smigel
- Josh Comers
- David Feldman
“Robert Smigel is known for being the voice of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog,” Pergram noted. “He also produced short cartoons for Saturday Night Live’s ‘TV Funhouse’.”
The report added the following notes.
USCP have issued the following statement: “On June 16, 2022, at approximately 8:30 p.m., U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) received a call for a disturbance in the Longworth House Office Building.”
USCP: “Responding officers observed seven individuals, unescorted and without Congressional ID, in a sixth-floor hallway.”
USCP: “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.”
USCP: “They were charged with Unlawful Entry. This is an active criminal investigation, and may result in additional criminal charges after consultation with the U.S. Attorney.”
Fox News reported more information, per legal analyst Jonathan Turley.
“Jesse Watters just aired a report that a crew with Stephen Colbert were arrested last night at the Capitol and charged with unlawful entry,” Turley noted. “Two members were mentioned as allowing them into the building, including House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff. Rep. Rodney Davis seemed to confirm the basic facts in the segment. While much still have to be confirmed on the details, the charge would be the same as most of those who were arrested in connection to the Jan. 6th riot.”
“The segment suggested that they were banging on doors as part of the skit with a comedian who has appeared on the show,” Turley added.
As Chuck Callesto noted on Twitter, the staffers included high-level producers. If this were Fox News, you could only imagine the media meltdown. Since it is Stephen Colbert illegally attempting to harass Republican House members, it will be interesting to see how widely this attempted “insurrection” is reported.
Syndicated with licensed permission from Becker News. Follow Becker News on Telegram.
Current Founder, CEO and Chief Editor of Becker News. Former Writer & Associate Producer at Fox News for #1 top-rated prime-time cable news show. Former Director of Viral Media and Senior Managing Editor for award-winning startup website IJReview, which grew to a readership of 20-30 million Americans a month. Led editorial and social media team that was #1 ranked news & politics publisher on Facebook for story engagement. Writer whose thousands of digital articles have been read by over 100 million unique users.