The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said prosecutors determined it was untenable to move forward with the misdemeanor charges against the nine people who were arrested at the Longworth Office Building on June 16.
“The individuals, who entered the building on two separate occasions, were invited by Congressional staffers to enter the building in each instance and were never asked to leave by the staffers who invited them, though, members of the group had been told at various points by the U.S. Capitol Police that they were supposed to have an escort,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement.
“We do not believe it is probable that the Office would be able to obtain and sustain convictions on these charges,” the office said, noting that the production crew’s “escort chose to leave them unattended.”
The incident drew attention from conservative media figures, including Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, who said on his show that the group had carried out a “meticulously planned coup” in a segment that seemed to take aim at other television hosts for their reaction to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
After the arrests, Colbert said on his show that the staffers “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. If you don’t know what that reason is, I know what news network you watch.”
He added: “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.”
Colbert went on to skewer Fox News for “claiming that my puppet squad had committed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building.”
“First of all: what? Second of all: huh? Third of all, they weren’t in the Capitol building. Fourth of all and I’m shocked I have to explain the difference, but an insurrection involves interrupting the lawful action of Congress and howling for the blood of elected leaders, all to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. This was first-degree puppetry.”
