The News
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y. has been criminally charged for pulling a fire alarm in a Capitol office building while on his way to vote last month, and plans to pay a fine to later have the charge dropped, he told Semafor.
“I am responsible for activating a fire alarm, I will be paying the fine issued, and look forward to these charges being ultimately dropped,” he said in a statement.
Bowman was charged with one misdemeanor count of falsely pulling a fire alarm. His arraignment is set for Thursday morning.
Under an agreement he made with the Washington, D.C. Attorney General’s office, he is set to pay a $1,000 fine and issue a formal apology to the Capitol Police, and the charge will be withdrawn in three months.
Bowman was seen on security footage pulling the fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building on his way to exit the building to vote on a spending bill amid the government shutdown chaos on Sept. 30, a Saturday. It led to the evacuation of the building.
He previously said he was confused by the “usually open” exit, thought the alarm button would unlock the door, and did not mean to set off a building-wide evacuation.
Bowman said Wednesday that he did not intend to obstruct or delay and House proceedings.
“I think we all know that Republicans will attempt to use this to distract everyone from their mess, but I look forward to putting this behind me and to continue working hard to deliver for New Yorkers,” he told Semafor.
— Kadia Goba contributed to this report.