Tipsheet

The Stephen Colbert Coup™ and the Jan. 6 'Insurrection'

Mia Cathell
Mia Cathell  |  June 27, 2022 4:15 PM

You've heard all about the Jan. 6 "insurrection." We need to talk about the Colbert coup™. Staffers from liberal late-night host Stephen Colbert's comedy show were arrested mid-June at the U.S. Capitol complex for allegedly illegally entering a House of Representatives office building. Sounds familiar, right? It gets better.

The alleged trespassers were invited by congressional Democrats to conduct interviews with majority members of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Jan. 6-obsessed select committee, such as Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), assigned to investigate the actions of those who were also not legally allowed to be inside the Capitol complex. Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) was also interviewed and played a key role in allowing the Capitol expeditionists under Colbert's tutelage, who were not credentialed and didn't possess a free-for-all hall pass to be prowling about without a babysitter, to circumvent the vetting parameters in place.

As a reminder for those who have understandably lost interest in the J6 dog-and-pony show, Schiff spent the past 17 months proclaiming that unauthorized violation of Capitol space is treasonous. Then, during the climax of the Jan. 6 media circus being shoved down the throats of disinterested voters ahead of the midterms, the town crier granted CBS employees access to the Capitol complex, where the Colbert affiliates had the apparent intent to harass sitting Republican members of Congress just for sh*ts and giggles.

U.S. Capitol Police arresting at least seven individuals associated with CBS's "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" on federal grounds the night of June 16 is cosmic karma that's satisfying for Trump voters and conservatives at large who were vilified based on party affiliation in the fallout of the Jan. 6 riot.

Jan. 6 Parallels

The group was taken into custody while inside the Longworth House Office Building and charged with unlawful entry after being evicted earlier in the day from an area of the Cannon House Office Building—used for media staging during the afternoon Jan. 6 committee hearing—for lacking the proper credentials. But then the crew returned at night unaccompanied after the Capitol complex was closed to public visitors, Fox News reported.

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The arrest summary report for the June 16 disturbance call incident said the group was "making loud noises" when approached. During the investigation, police learned the suspects had been booted out of the Cannon House Office Building and "told they could not return to any buildings unless escorted by Congressional staff."

According to what Fox News was told, the filming posse took videos and pictures around the offices of two Republican members of Congress: Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO).

The group banged on doors of several Republican offices, including McCarthy's, Boebert's, and Rep. Jim Jordan's (R-OH), as Fox News detailed, for a Colbert skit centered around the Jan. 6 hearings.

According to Fox News reporter Chad Pergram, the headcount grew to nine arrestees: frequent Colbert guest Robert Smigel, "The Late Show" senior producer Jake Plunkett, associate producer Allison Martinez, Tyrone Dean, Stephen Romond, Nicoletta Green, art director Brendan Hurley, Colbert writer Josh Comers, and comedy writer David Feldman. The collection of arrests happened near Boebert's office, Pergram reported, and all were released overnight without incident. So far, their booking photos have yet to be released.

Criminal defense attorney Jonathan Turley commented that the defendants could claim "implied permission" and the responsible member could ameliorate the situation by conceding it was a failure on the part of the congressional office to obtain formal approval or notice for the TV shooting. "It might still mean a breach of security protocol, but the House ultimately controls access in such cases," the legal analyst observed.

Federal charges could be brought under 18 U.S.C. § 1752 for anyone who "knowingly enters or remains in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so," Turley remarked on Twitter.

Criminal defense attorney Marina Medvin, who represents several Jan. 6 defendants, said they're two versions of the unlawful entry charge: one under D.C. code and the other under U.S. code. The former is historically used as opposed to the federal version, Medvin explained, and what made the J6 prosecutorial decisions "unique" are the U.S.C. charges. "I bet the crew was charged via DC code," Medvin predicted.

Medvin's forecast is spot on. Pergram announced Wednesday, according to Fox News producer Jake Gibson, that the Colbert Seven are slated to appear on July 20 in D.C. Superior Court.

Legal expert Brian Claypool joined "Jesse Watters Primetime" on Tuesday to discuss the police reportedly refusing to release the mugshots of the Colbert Seven. "This isn't democracy anymore. It’s hypocrisy. This is a new blue code of justice..." Claypool said of the liberal privilege. "I wouldn't call it the Department of Justice anymore. I would call it the Department of Favors passing out favors to everybody who breaks the law in D.C."

If authorities were to follow the precedent set by the Jan. 6 political prosecution, the Colbert Seven would still be behind bars. They'd lock you up and throw away the key if you walked inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. 

No, it was just the harmless shenanigans of professional pranksters, they're saying.

Defenders of Colbert's crew are trying to downplay the controversy as a nothing-burger when it's a Michelin-star meal being served on a silver platter for Jan. 6 defendants and their supporters. Even more, it whets the public's appetite as movie theatre popcorn to feast on during the televised Jan. 6 snoozefest.

But it's looking like a slap on the wrist compared to the Jan. 6 witch hunt. Colbert's gang is afforded leniency by the playmakers handing out Get Out of Jail Free cards while some Jan. 6 defendants, who were deemed guilty until proven innocent by the political opposition, have endured a year-and-a-half of maltreatment.

It's no coincidence that the alleged culprits happen to be the same zealous accusers pointing fingers at Jan. 6 defendants, who look more like your Trump-loving uncle picking fights with other boomers on Facebook and shaking up Thanksgiving dinner than any blood-thirsty insurrectionist launching a choreographed attack on America's democracy. How does that saying about glass houses and throwing stones go?

The alleged offense that the Colbert Seven are facing is the D.C. form of the U.S.C. charge over a hundred Jan. 6 defendants have been slapped with. To be precise, 132 of the accused J6-ers, according to Fox News, which reported that Colbert's henchmen could face up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine if convicted.

While Colbert's lackeys were let go within hours, a bunch of Jan. 6 suspects were detained months after the Capitol breach. WUSA9 verified that some Jan. 6 defendants were held without bond before trial.

A landmark decision on bond for Jan. 6 suspects handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is part of the reason why, WUSA9 found. In the case of United States vs. Munchel, a three-judge panel ruled those who "actually assaulted police officers and broke through windows, doors, and barricades, and those who aided, conspired with, planned, or coordinated such actions, are in a different category of dangerousness than those who cheered on the violence or entered the Capitol after others cleared the way."

The ruling instructed the release of certain Jan. 6 detainees, unless the Department of Justice demonstrated that a defendant poses "a threat" to public safety. Of course, this left ample room for interpretation.

"The biggest reason why federal prosecutors want to hold someone without bail is that it's much easier to get a plea agreement and a deal when someone's already in federal prison," West Coast Trial Lawyers president and ex-federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told WUSA9. "It's very difficult, especially for someone who has no criminal history, to sign that plea agreement and agree to surrender and go to federal prison. So, some of it is actually danger to the community, but some of it is actually strategy and tactics to get folks to plead guilty."

Jan. 6 defendant Jacob Lang told The Daily Wire on a November phone call from the slammer that he spent 200 days in solitary confinement, which included 23 hours a day alone in a jail cell. Lang had been locked up since 10 days after the Capitol riot. Lang said that 40 of the Jan. 6 jailbirds, all males, were housed together in a special "pod" at the D.C. jail, where the "environment is different from any other jail in America."

The Daily Wire reported that the D.C. jail denies barbering services, including haircuts and shaves, to unvaccinated inmates. The unkept defendants with overgrown beards have argued the jail conditions has led to them attending court appearances looking like the Unabomber, causing potential prejudice in their cases.

The shock-and-awe style of prosecution came for Jan. 6 defendant Matthew Perna, who took his own life in February awaiting sentencing. According to the now-scrubbed Department of Justice's case description, Perna entered a plea agreement in December, pleading guilty to all counts. Perna claimed he was only in the Capitol building for a mere five- to 10-minute period on Jan. 6, the statement of facts reads. Perna's sentencing was set to take place a month after he committed suicide for charges that carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the felony, with additional penalties related to the misdemeanors.

Authorities informed Perna they're pursuing additional charges and he "couldn't take another day," Perna's family expressed, according to independent journalist Tayler Hansen, who stated the deceased "has been bullied to death by the DOJ." Hansen said the Perna family is "heartbroken and angry at everyone responsible."

DOJ's Double Standard

If there's any doubt about America's dual justice system under the current Biden administration, Auchincloss's top staffer was caught defacing posters outside the Capitol complex office of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) but the Department of Justice won't prosecute the vandal. USCP busted Auchincloss's chief of staff vandalizing several signs hanging in the vicinity of the firebrand conservative's congressional workplace.

51-year-old Timothy Duane Hysom, who worked for Schiff before rising to the top of the Democrat ranks as Auchincloss's head aide, was captured on camera trashing a handful of Greene's posters with stickers containing religious messages in the Longworth House Office Building between the months of January and March this year, according to a copy of the arrest warrant obtained by Just the News. Hysom was offered "a non-custodial interview" but "he declined and retained counsel," a USCP affidavit states. According to the affiant's written statement, Hysom "did violate D.C. Code § 22–3312.01 Defacing Public or Private Property."

The affiant contacted the complainant, Greene, and confirmed that seven of the U.S. representative's signs were destroyed, since attempting to remove the stickers "destroys the posters and requires them to be replaced." Receipts were provided showing that the posters cost $50 each for a combined total loss of $350.

Hyson was referred for criminal charges, but the same U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, D.C., that threw the book at the Jan. 6 defendants declined to approve an arrest warrant. Officials told Just the News that Greene was informed last month that prosecutors chose not to pursue charges because the office did not believe a federal judge would allow the case to proceed. A USCP spokesperson verified to The Epoch Times that the suspect was referred for prosecution, but federal prosecutors "declined to prosecute, so without a filed criminal case we will not release the name to the public." The affidavit requesting that a warrant be issued for Hysom's arrest was left unsigned, per the empty prosecutor's signature line designated for an Assistant U.S. Attorney.

A poster of Greene's stated, "There are Only Two Genders: Male and Female. Trust the Science." According to the USCP document, a sticker the size of an 8.5" x 11" standard piece of printer paper was placed on the two genders-only poster, citing Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven...'Away from me, you evildoers!'" Greene's poster was replaced by an identical one. 

Then another sticker was attached, reading: "True Disciples of Christ don’t say the thing you say, act the way you act, and treat people the way you treat people." The following day, a new sticker showed a picture of Jesus that said: "I never knew you, MTG. Love [a heart symbol] GOD." Other stickers fastened to Green's posters on different days over the span on three months quoted Matthew 23:24-26, "You blind guides!...Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!...[I]nside you are full of greed and self-indulgence," and were emblazoned with the definition of the word "Pharisee," meaning: "A self-righteous person; a hypocrite."

Still images from security footage showed a white male with a bald head wearing a face mask. In one instance, the suspect even took a picture of his handiwork. On March 11, the suspect was stopped by officers and identified as Hysom, based off of a department-wide BOLO (Be On the Lookout alert) issued by the USCP.

A spokesperson for Auchincloss sent Just the News a statement confirming the defacement but argued that treating it as a crime was "ridiculous." Auchincloss spokesman Matt Corridoni said the real victims were onlookers forced to read Greene's posters, calling the signage "foul, mean spirited, [and] bullying."

On the matter of the U.S. Attorney's office dismissing the vandalism case, Corridoni applauded federal prosecutors for not addressing "a ridiculous accusation" that the USCP "were obligated to pass along."

While contending that Hysom's behavior was legal and not criminal, Corridoni maintained that his boss, Auchincloss, wasn't aware of his underling's scheme beforehand. As for the Colbert Seven's late-night debauchery, Auchincloss's office said the Massachusetts congressman did not condone the crew's decision to stick around and wander federal grounds afterward. "Our contact with them ended well before the building closed for the evening. We do not condone any inappropriate activity..." Corridoni told Just the News.

During a speech on the House floor Tuesday, Greene said the lack of prosecution "is another example of the two-tiered justice system that we are living under right now," firing back at the Biden administration's Justice Department and Democratic leadership. On social media, Greene accused Hysom of committing hate crimes targeting her gender and faith. She also lambasted the DOJ for "refus[ing] to protect half of the country."

Back in 2017 when Hysom served as the chief of staff for Rep. Adam Lowenthal (D-CA), the lawmaker's high-level staffers were outraged when a man took down a rainbow Pride flag in the congressman's office, calling the display "disgusting" and "immoral" to fly next to the American flag. Lowenthal told Metro Weekly that his staff was so offended by the act that they chased the man down the hall and brought the individual to the police themselves, but USCP initially decided he had not broken any laws or rules and he was let go. Yet, Hysom remains "unapologetic," Greene leveled, about the repeat vandalism of her conservative posters.

Greene postulated that Hysom "feels completely above the law" by painting the congresswoman's common-sense message on gender—one that's shared by a majority of sane Americans who don't believe there are an infinite number of gender identities—as "a statement of hate," therefore "he's entitled to attacking me for it."

J6 Committee's Debunked Whataboutism

The chair of Pelosi's committee threw a temper tantrum after the USCP debunked the Democrat allegation that a Republican lawmaker supposedly led a so-called "reconnaissance tour" of the Capitol to soon-to-be rioters in advance of Jan. 6. The GOP congressman was cleared of any wrongdoing on June 13, but that didn't matter to Pelosi's prized picks on the J6 committee who've already reached their own partisan conclusions.

The June 16 arrests arrived after Democrats on the J6 committee interrogated Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) over a visit comprising more than a dozen of the lawmaker's constituents that took place a day before the Capitol riot. Loudermilk rebuffed allegations he was involved in or sanctioned any nefarious behavior, which J6 committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) countered as conduct that "raise[d] concerns about their activity and intent." Loudermilk was vindicated when USCP chief J. Thomas Manger wrote in a June 13 memo that, based on reviewed security footage, his department "do[es] not consider any of the activities we observed as suspicious." Loudermilk called the committee's claims "baseless," emphasizing in an interview with Fox News that what the USCP determined "doesn't fit the narrative" that the Jan. 6 committee has conjured.

During the riot-eve gathering, according to the chief, at no time did the civilians appear in any tunnels, where USCP officers were, that would've connected to the Capitol entrance. "There is no evidence that Representative Loudermilk entered the U.S. Capitol with this group..." Manger concluded in the letter.

Even after the USCP's findings were made public last Monday, the Jan. 6 committee doubled down, insisting there was chicanery afoot because subjects seldom of interest to tourists were recorded like hallways, staircases, and security checkpoints. The investigative body renewed its request for info from Loudermilk while crybaby J6 committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) claimed they're "not normal tour routes" taken.

If not for Loudermilk's exoneration, the good-faith Jan. 5 outing could have been weaponized as the Left's go-to whataboutism as a counterpoint to the Colbert Seven's arrests. The desperate House Democrats are also relying on the discredited allegations against Loudermilk as (nonexistent) evidence proving the Capitol riot was well-organized and premeditated thanks to Republicans in Congress, i.e. "What about Loudermilk's tour?" It's no coincidence the political theatre literally ramped up production before the curtains fall on Election Day.

Loudermilk has since received death threats due to the J6 committee's false accusations. "Hey, insurrectionists don’t have a long life span," a caller said, according to audio released by Loudermilk's office. Another expressed the hope that Loudermilk gets “dragged before a military tribunal” and shot to death by a Marine firing squad.  "The select committee’s irresponsible actions of releasing information to the press, instead of dealing directly with me, not only shows their lack of interest in pursuing the truth, but also has real and serious consequences," Loudermilk wrote in a June 15 release disclosing audio of the death threats.

Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL)—the ranking member on the House Committee on Administration, which has jurisdiction over USCP and House chamber operations—told Fox News host Jesse Watters on his June 17 show that he will demand answers when Congress returns to session this week. Davis said on-air that the Colbert gaggle visited the same buildings as the ones Loudermilk's company toured on Jan. 5, 2021.

Davis, one of the Republican lawmakers McCarthy tapped to sit as a minority member on the Jan. 6 committee until Pelosi denied seats for GOP appointees, made good on his promise last Monday night when he sent a letter to Manger demanding further information on the arrest of Colbert's staff. Davis requested all reports, witness statements, security footage, still photographs, and any other material related to the arrests.

Colbert's Activist Comedy

After a weekend of silence, Colbert finally spoke out during last Monday's episode, shrugging off his staff's run-in with the federal law enforcement agency tasked with protecting Congress as "a memorable one."

"The Capitol Police were just doing their job. My staff was just doing their job. Everyone was very professional. Everyone was very calm." Colbert said. "My staffers were detained, processed, and released. A very unpleasant experience for my staff." The well-known host continued to downplay the incident, describing the scene before his employees were apprehended as "hijinks with intent to goof" involving "first-degree puppetry" and "jokey make-em-ups." The official Twitter account for "The Late Show" characterized it as a "non-surrection."

Fox News revealed that the Colbert-connected team applied to receive press clearance for the Jan. 6 hearing on the Capitol campus but the House Radio/TV Gallery rejected the request because they're not considered "news." If anything, they're entertainment—which, in itself, is a generous label for Colbert's brand of comedy.

Before the after-hours escapades, law enforcement spotted the group in the J6 committee's press corral and ushered them away. The multi-person party was let back into the Longworth House Office Building sometime after 4 p.m. by an aide to Auchincloss and left roaming unattended for several hours, sources told Fox News.

Responding officers encountered unescorted suspects without congressional IDs in a sixth-floor hallway. The individuals apprehended that evening were determined to be a part of a group that had already been directed earlier by the USCP to leave the site. "This is an active criminal investigation, and may result in additional criminal charges after consultation with the U.S. Attorney," the USCP statement to Fox News reads.

Colbert focused on the presence of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a character voiced by Smigel, as comic relief, calling the puppet "a bipartisan puppy. He's so neutral, he's neutered." He further joked about "the long history of puppet lawlessness."

"Drawing any equivalence between rioters storming our Capitol to prevent the counting of electoral ballots and a cigar-chomping toy dog is a shameful and grotesque insult to the memory of everyone who died," Colbert said, pivoting from the off-beat satirical takes to censuring any attempts to compare the parallel cases.

This shift in topics is, of course, deliberate. Colbert invoked the slapstick silliness of a rubber Rottweiler, a foul-mouthed fictional canine with a habit of chewing cigars, to dismiss the scandal as nothing more than a botched segment of "Impractical Jokers," a light-hearted prank gone wrong accompanied by the sad trombone sound effect. It's a distracting sideshow meant to trivialize the seriousness of the real-world situation staining Colbert's already-tarnished reputation.

Fox News staple Tucker Carlson quipped last Monday night that the Capitol "saboteurs" running amok on June 16 were under the direct control of Colbert. Carlson aired a clip of the J6 alarmist's monologue in the aftermath of the Capitol riot calling former President Donald Trump's strong GOP sway "Charlottesville com[ing] home to roost." Oh, but it's sketch comedy when Colbert's cronies are facing crimes in the nation's capital. On the contrary, to Colbert, there was nothing to laugh about when the QAnon Shaman paraded around the Capitol on Jan. 6. Carlson called Colbert a no-nonsense Karen with zero sense of humor, "a brittle, middle-aged woman who's always lecturing you about something."

If you strip Colbert's argument of its sugar-coated virtue signaling, the logic here can be boiled down to the ol' phrase: Rules for thee, but not for me. Psychoanalysts will dissect Colbert's self-righteous mental gymnastics and moral superiority complex for decades to come.

A merciless Carlson said Tuesday evening that Colbert's comedic repertoire "sounds like a Biden flack delivering whatever talking points the White House tells him to repeat." Carlson's on-point assessment of Colbert pointed out that the woke talking head is acting as a shameless foot solder, one of many, in an "information war being waged against television viewers on behalf of the Democratic Party."

Colbert's industry counterparts have chastised him for his prioritization of political sloganeering over clever jabs that come for all and take no prisoners. Podcasting icon Joe Rogan criticized Colbert for palling around with Democrats and hypothesized he clambers to be part of the "in-crowd" by licking the boots of the powerful.

Rogan is right. Colbert doesn't just bolster Democrats; he outright shills for the Democratic Party. During the first year of Trump's time in the White House, Colbert fan girled over Obama, telling the 44th president: "I miss you." A year before, the Democrat doormat spotlighted Obama in an apple-polishing routine where he pretended to help the former commander-in-chief polish his resume as he prepared to leave the Oval Office.

Following the 2020 election of Trump's challenger, Colbert couldn't contain his excitement. On the day after President Joe Biden's inauguration, Colbert appeared to relish the moment, uttering: "Today was the first full day on the job for President Biden—Oh, oh I got to say, that, that does feel good on the tongue."

Once respected as a political satirist, Colbert's career has taken a nose dive. He's traded quick wit for platitudes as the establishment left's court jester, sympathizing instead of dishing out. They'll bark, "Jump!" and he'll ask, "How high?" They'll plead for him to lob softballs, and he'll make it T-ball.

Among the notable left-wing faces who have graced Colbert's stage, he has hosted Pelosi, failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on many occasions for friendly sit-downs and performative pow-wows. Colbert and his chum Schumer were mocked last August for dancing together in Central Park during a concert at the time of the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.

Colbert's schtick has devolved into a piss-poor parody of current events, one that's sycophantic towards the Biden presidency's agenda like pushing coronavirus vaccination. Last year, the CBS star performed a COVID-19 vaccine song, a cringefest danced to the tune of "Tequila" with a backdrop of dancers in syringe costumes.

As for the other end of the political spectrum, Colbert rose to prominence trashing conservative pundits and voters. Colbert was the featured entertainer at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner where he roasted President George W. Bush sitting feet away in the voice of the uninformed, right-wing persona he popularized.