January 6 prosecutor refuses to prosecute ‘Colbert 9’ insurrectionists
Nine crew members for The Late Show with Steven Colbert who trespassed on Capitol grounds last month and harassed Republican lawmakers and the families of January 6th attendees will not be charged with a misdemeanor, the U.S. Attorney said in a statement Monday.
As reported by America’s Frontline News, the production team was arrested while trespassing in the Longworth House Office Building, an office building for House Representatives which is part of the Capitol complex. The crew was reportedly let in by Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) staff after earlier interviewing Schiff, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), and Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) regarding the January 6 Committee hearings.
The crew members were uninvited, had no passes and no escort. According to reports, the “Colbert 9” were “loud, disruptive” and “theatrical” and were banging on the doors of House Republicans. They were arrested by Capitol Police near Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-CO) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) offices and charged with trespassing, the same charge levied against January 6 attendees.
But U.S Attorney Matthew Graves, who has been prosecuting January 6 attendees, refuses to prosecute the Hollywood insurrectionists, according to The Gateway Pundit.
“After a comprehensive review of all of the evidence and the relevant legal authority, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has determined that it cannot move forward with misdemeanor charges of unlawful entry against the nine individuals who were arrested on June 16, 2022 at the Longworth Office Building,” the attorney’s office said.
“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 statement continued.
Also last month, physician, attorney and human rights activist Dr. Simone Gold was sentenced to 60 days in prison, one-year supervised leave and a $9,500 fine for trespassing on Capitol grounds on January 6th. Though she had committed no harassment, violence or vandalism, she was arrested on January 18, 2021 by over a dozen law enforcement officers with assault weapons who broke down her door. She was labeled an insurrectionist and spent two nights in jail.
The CBS employees spent one night in jail and were released the next day.
“I’m shocked I have to explain the difference,” Colbert said in a monologue on his show after the arrests. “But an insurrection involves disrupting the lawful actions of Congress and howling for the blood of elected leaders, all to prevent the peaceful transfer of power — this was first-degree puppetry.”
Except many January 6 attendees are not being charged with disrupting lawful actions, howling for politicians’ blood or obstructing justice. They’re being charged with the same misdemeanor as Colbert’s staff: trespassing.
