Posted on 10/25/23
| News Source: FOX News
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., has been charged for allegedly pulling a fire alarm in a House of Representatives building ahead of a critical vote last month to avert a government shutdown.
Bowman was charged with falsely pulling a fire alarm Wednesday afternoon, and his arraignment is scheduled for Thursday morning.
An arrest warrant filed by U.S. Capitol Police Supervisory Special Agent Joseph McAtee says police were notified on Sept. 30 at 12:05 p.m. that a fire alarm had been pulled inside the Cannon House Office Building on the second floor.
When Bowman was interviewed by Capitol Police agents, he told them he responded "yes" when asked if he knew anything about the fire alarm. The Democratic representative said he was in a rush because votes were being called, adding that the door is usually open.
Bowman, according to the arrest warrant, told the agents he saw the nearby doors with a sign that said, "emergency exit only push to open," so "he pushed on the door and pulled the lever next to it, which must have been the alarm."
"[Bowman] advised that usually when votes are called, all doors are open, and that door is usually open (the second-floor door leading to Independence Ave). The defendant further stated that this door was a usual door he uses. The defendant advised that he then went to a Dem (Democratic) meeting and a vote at the Capitol, then the House Sergeant at Arms contacted him," the warrant states.