The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has decided to drop charges against the members of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” production team that were arrested at the U.S. Capitol on June 16. The group had been filming a Triumph the Insult Dog segment for the talk show.
The decision to decline prosecution on the case was confirmed in a statement made by U.S. Capitol Police on Monday.
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“The United States Capitol Police has been working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia on the June 16, 2022, Unlawful Entry case that involved a group of nine people associated with ‘The Late Show,’” the statement reads. “The United States Capitol Police was just informed the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is declining to prosecute the case. We respect the decision that office has made.”
The statement by Capitol Police also indicates that nine people were arrested for unlawful entry after the group “had been told several times before they entered the Congressional buildings that they had to remain with a staff escort inside the buildings and they failed to do so.”
CBS offered a statement immediately following the arrest to downplay the severity of the incident, stating that the staff’s “interviews at the Capitol were authorized and pre-arranged through Congressional aides of the members interviewed.” CBS also clarified that the production team had remained at the Capitol to film stand-ups and other elements before the group was detained.
In the week following the incident, Colbert commented on the situation through his opening monologue on “The Late Show,” stating that everyone was “very professional” throughout the proceedings.
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