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Stephen Colbert endured an “interesting” weekend after staff at ‘The Late Show' were arrested at the Capitol Building.
The 58-year-old comedian explained that seven members of his show's production team were arrested when they travelled to Washington DC to film a segment with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a puppet character created by Robert Smigel.
Stephen joked: “How was your weekend? I certainly had an interesting one, because some of my staff had a memorable one.
“Triumph offered to go down to D.C. to interview some Congress people to highlight some January 6 hearings. I said, âSure, if you can get anyone to agree to talk to you. Because, and please donât take this as an insult, youâre a puppet.'”
The comedian subsequently explained that his staff, including Robert Smigel, were arrested by police officers.
However, Stephen conceded that the officers were “just doing their job” and he understood their cautious approach in light of the riot at the Capitol Building in January last year.
He said: “[My staff] were doing some last-minute puppetry and jokey make-em-ups in a hallway, when Triumph and my folks were approached and detained by Capitol Police, which actually is not surprising.
“The Capitol Police are much more cautious than they were 18 months ago and for a very good reason.”
Despite this, Stephen admitted it was a “very unpleasant experience” for his staff.
The comedy star explained: “The Capitol police were just doing their job, my staff was just doing their job, everyone was very professional, everyone was very calm. My staffers were detained, processed and released. A very unpleasant experience for my staff.”
Meanwhile, Capitol police confirmed that officers “observed seven individuals, unescorted and without Congressional ID, in a sixth-floor hallway”.
The statement 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.”
