OAN’s Abril Elfi
11:43 AM – Thursday, December 7, 2023
The House voted to censure Democrat Representative Jamaal Bowman after he pulled the Capitol’s fire alarm.
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On Thursday, the chamber voted 214-to-191 on the measure to condemn Bowman (D-N.Y.), primarily along party lines.
The vote occured a month after Bowman entered a guilty plea to a single misdemeanor charge of setting off a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building before a crucial House vote.
Before the House could vote on a stopgap bill that would fund the government before the deadline for the shutdown, Bowman decided to pull the alarm.
Security footage showed Bowman looking at the doors that read “Emergency Exit Only Push Until Alarm Sounds,” then, as he notices that the doors are locked, he gazed at the red fire alarm and quickly pulled it.
According to the lawsuit, after pulling the alarm, Bowman strolled by Capitol police officers without saying anything or alerting them that he was the individual who was responsible for pulling the alarm.
Bowman then entered the U.S. Capitol building again just four minutes after pulling the alarm. Later, he finally admitted that he pulled it, but claimed that the incident was an “innocent mistake.”
“I was rushing to make a vote,” Bowman said. “I didn’t know it would trigger the whole building.”
After the event, some Republicans introduced a bill to censure Bowman, claiming that he was deliberately trying to sabotage the impending vote.
As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Bowman promised to “write an apology to Capitol Police and pay a $1,000 fine.”
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By: OAN
