Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and 6 other Stephen Colbert staffers arrested outside the Capitol, charged with illegal entry

• Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was at the Capitol with a production team Thursday to record a comedy segment.
• The team was found unescorted in the Longworth House Office Building and detained by Capitol police.

Actor and comedian Robert Smigel, best known for his role puppeteering Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, along with six other staffers from "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert were arrested Thursday at the US Capitol for illegal entry.

The group of seven staffers were on the Capitol grounds Wednesday and Thursday filming interviews for an upcoming comedy segment on "The Late Show," according to a statement from CBS provided to Insider, when they were detained.

"Their interviews at the Capitol were authorized and pre-arranged through Congressional aides of the members interviewed," read the statement from CBS.

US Capitol Police said in a statement to Insider that upon responding to a call about a disturbance, officers saw the individuals, unescorted and without Congressional ID, in a sixth-floor hallway of the Longworth House Office Building.

"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," read a statement by the US Capitol Police public information officer, who confirmed the group was charged with unlawful entry.

Smigel, as well as other members of the detained group, did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was originally a character on NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," and has been appearing intermittently on Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show" since 2016.

"This is an active criminal investigation, and may result in additional criminal charges after consultation with the U.S. Attorney," read a statement by the US Capitol Police public information officer.