Congressman Jamaal Bowman has been criminally charged for pulling a fire alarm in a U.S. Capitol office building last month as lawmakers worked to avoid a government shutdown.
Bowman, who represents parts of Westchester County, was arraigned Thursday morning at Superior Court of the District of Columbia, where he pleaded guilty to a false-fire-alarm charge, a misdemeanor. The New York Times reports that the congressman will pay a $1,000 fine and issue an apology to the U.S. Capitol Police. If he follows through, the charge will be dropped in three months, which is in line with standard procedure.
The odd saga began on September 30, when a fire alarm caused an evacuation of the Cannon House Office Building while Congress was in session. Stills from surveillance cameras appeared to show Bowman intentionally pulling the alarm in the building, sparking the hour-and-a-half-long evacuation. The congressman has maintained that he tried to exit the Cannon building through an emergency door to no avail and pulled the lever thinking it would unlock the door.
An affidavit from the U.S. Capitol Police shed some new light on the incident. An investigator reported that surveillance footage showed Bowman attempting to open an emergency door and then pulling the fire alarm, causing an alarm to sound as well as strobe lights. However, Bowman is seen walking away from that door and trying several other exits before ultimately leaving through a stairwell. The affidavit notes that Bowman passed several Capitol Police officers as he made his way back to the House but never spoke to them.
NY1 obtained the surveillance footage from the Cannon building that shows Bowman pulling the alarm after trying the emergency door:
Speaking to reporters following his court appearance, Bowman expressed remorse. “I really regret that this caused so much confusion and that people had to evacuate, and I just caused a disturbance. I hate that. It’s pretty embarrassing,” he said, per The Hill.
Though the legal aspect of the incident appears to be resolved, Bowman’s Republican colleagues are not satisfied. Many congressional Republicans believe Bowman’s actions were intended to halt negotiations of the funding bill and suggested that he’s receiving different treatment than January 6 rioters who were charged with obstructing official proceedings. Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, who represents Staten Island, went as far as to draft a resolution to expel her fellow New Yorker from the House entirely, something that hasn’t occurred in Congress since the Civil War. The measure has yet to be considered by the chamber.
Congressman Bryan Steil, the Republican chairman of the House Administration Committee, said in a statement that he is encouraging the Ethics Committee to look into the Bowman incident despite its legal resolution.
“Rep. Bowman’s excuse does not pass the sniff test. After pulling the fire alarm, Rep. Bowman fled the scene, passed by multiple Capitol Police officers and had every opportunity to alert USCP of his mistake,” he said.
