U.S. Capitol security footage released on Thursday appeared to show New York Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman removing warning signs from an exit door before pulling a fire alarm in a House office building ahead of a government spending vote last month.
🚨 NEW FOOTAGE: Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman removes warning signs before pulling the fire alarm in a House office building last month pic.twitter.com/dhwOQN2G6y
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 26, 2023
The Daily Wire contacted a representative for Rep. Bowman for a response.
RNC Research shared the surveillance on social media just hours after Bowman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of falsely pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building on September 30.
“I am responsible for activating a fire alarm, I will be paying the fine issued, and look forward to these charges being ultimately dropped,” Bowman said in a statement reported by POLITICO.
A spokesperson for the D.C. Attorney General’s office told the outlet that Bowman was “pleading guilty and has agreed to pay the maximum fine.”
The charges levied against Bowman carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail, but the D.C. Attorney General’s Office said the congressman “is pleading guilty and has agreed to pay the maximum fine” — which is $1,000 — and Bowman will issue a formal apology to the Capitol Police.
If Bowman sticks to the terms of the deal, which includes three months probation, prosecutors will drop the charge at a sentencing hearing on January 29, according to the plea deal reported by Reuters.
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Bowman told reporters before the arraignment, “Hell no” when asked if he meant to pull the fire alarm, but asserted he was “taking responsibility” for his actions.
“What I did was against D.C. law,” Bowman said, according to Fox News. “As I said from the very beginning, I was not trying to disrupt any congressional proceedings. I’m glad the investigation yielded that.”
Just before the lower chamber of Congress voted on a spending bill last month to avert a government shutdown, the procedure came to a temporary halt when the fire alarm went off.
Bowman, a 47-year-old former teacher representing a district covering part of New York City and Westchester County, told Capitol Police he was on his way to the vote when he pulled the fire alarm, believing it would open an exit door in the House building.
In a statement hours after the incident, Bowman said that he did not “in any way” trigger the House building fire alarm “to delay any vote.”
“It was the exact opposite — I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I ultimately did and joined my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to keep our government open,” Bowman said. “I also met after the vote with the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police, at their request, and explained what had happened. My hope is that no one will make more of this than it was. I am working hard every day, including today, to do my job, to do it well, and deliver for my constituents.”
“Peace and Love,” he added.