Pleading guilty to a misdemeanour charge and pledging to pay a fine for pulling a fire alarm in a congressional building as a crucial vote loomed, Congressman Jamaal Bowman, a Democratic representative from New York, expressed his frustration with Republicans for drawing “crazy” comparisons to the January 6 attack on Congress by rioters.
“That’s insane,” laughed Bowman, speaking to reporters outside the court in Washington on Thursday.
“Yeah, it’s absolutely crazy how they immediately compare me to insurrectionists and what happened on January 6. This is their tactic. They exploit any opportunity to divert attention away from their own internal dysfunction and self-destruction.”
Following the incident on September 30, in which Bowman was captured on camera pulling the fire alarm in the Cannon office building as a vote on a stopgap funding measure drew near, Kevin McCarthy, who was the Speaker of the House at the time, and the extremist Marjorie Taylor Greene were among the Republicans who compared the incident to the January 6 attack.
McCarthy described Bowman’s actions as “a new low” and stated, “We have witnessed the consequences faced by individuals who behave unlawfully within this Capitol. It will be interesting to see how he is treated and what he was trying to obstruct when it came to the American public.”
On January 6, 2021, a mob incited by ex-president Donald Trump attempted to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory. Although the attempt failed, the riot resulted in nine deaths, including suicides by law enforcement officers. Numerous arrests have been made and hundreds of convictions, including some for seditious conspiracy, have been secured. Trump faced impeachment.
Bowman immediately denied any intention to delay the vote, saying: “As I hurried to cast my vote, I approached a door that is typically open during voting, but it was closed on that day. Embarrassingly, I mistakenly activated the fire alarm, believing it would open the door. I deeply regret this and apologize for any confusion caused.”
On Wednesday, the DC Attorney General’s office confirmed that Bowman would “plead guilty and has agreed to pay the maximum fine”. A spokesperson stated, “Congressman Bowman has been treated like any other individual who violates the law in the District of Columbia. Based on the evidence presented by the Capitol Police, we have filed the only charge we have jurisdiction to prosecute.”
In a statement, Bowman stated that he was “thankful for the swift resolution from the District of Columbia Attorney General’s office regarding this matter, and I am grateful to the General Counsel’s Office of the United States Capitol Police for agreeing that I did not obstruct, nor intend to obstruct, any House vote or proceedings.
“I take full responsibility for activating the fire alarm and will pay the issued fine, while anticipating the ultimate dismissal of these charges.”
He also predicted that Republicans would “try to use this incident to divert attention from their own mess,” referring to the recent three-week standoff over electing a successor to McCarthy as Speaker of the House. The standoff ended with the appointment of Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump supporter from Louisiana.
Summoned to court on Thursday, Bowman spoke to reporters.
“You remember that day,” he remarked about September 30. “It was chaotic. We were struggling to keep the government running. There was a motion to adjourn. So, I was in a rush, you know, trying to get things moving. At one point, I even sprinted to the Capitol. So, it was just me rushing, and that’s entirely my fault.”
Being a prominent and outspoken progressive, Bowman, a former school principal in the Bronx, has frequently been the target of Republican criticism.
On Wednesday, Lisa McLain, a Republican from Michigan, introduced a resolution to formally censure Bowman and “remove him from all committee assignments for the remainder of the 118th Congress”.
Bryan Steil, the Republican chair of the House Administration Committee, called for an ethics investigation. Steil stated, “Bowman’s excuse does not hold up to scrutiny,” and added, “Immediately after triggering the fire alarm, Representative Bowman ran away, passing by multiple Capitol Police officers and having every opportunity to report his mistake to the USCP.”
Bowman expressed his desire to put the incident behind him and continue working hard for the people of New York.
