Rep. Jamaal Bowman, the Democrat Representative from New York known for his hyper-progressive views and for pulling a fire alarm in his House office building when the House was trying to vote on a spending package, was just criminally charged over the fire alarm incident.
According to NBC News reporter Frank Thorpe, who first reported on the story, the crime with which Rep. Bowman was charged, misdemeanor felony pulling a fire alarm, carries with it a maximum sentence of six months.
Posting about the charges on X(formerly Twitter), Thorpe said, “BREAKING: Rep Jamaal Bowman has been criminally charged with one misdemeanor count of falsely pulling a fire alarm for the September 30th incident in the Cannon Office Building, according to court documents, @dnlbrns & I report.”
Thorpe continued, quoting the Capitol Police, which investigated the incident, “CAPITOL POLICE: ‘We finished our investigation. Our agents gathered all the evidence, packaged it up, and sent the entire case with charges to prosecutors for their consideration.‘”
Thorpe went on to add that the Capitol Police apparently decided they had a case against Bowman a while ago, saying, “Capitol Police says their case has been done for a while, and that they presented a probable cause arrest warrant for 22DC1319A – False Fire Alarm – to the attorney general.”
That’s when he got to the maximum time Rep. Bowman could face for the incident, reporting, “Per @dnlbrns , the charge against Rep Bowman carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail. He has been ordered to appear in DC Superior Court tomorrow morning at 9:30am for his arraignment.”
Thorpe then quoted Chairman Steil of the House Administration Committee, who said, “Rep. Bowman’s excuse does not pass the sniff test. After pulling the fire alarm, Rep. Bowman fled the scene, passed by multiple Capitol Police officers and had every opportunity to alert USCP of his mistake. I want to thank U.S. Capitol Police for their swift attention to this incident, and encourage the Ethics Committee to further pursue this matter.”
BREAKING: Rep Jamaal Bowman has been criminally charged with one misdemeanor count of falsely pulling a fire alarm for the September 30th incident in the Cannon Office Building, according to court documents, @dnlbrns & I report.
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) October 25, 2023
However, Rep. Bowman was, predictably, quickly able to strike a deal and pay the fine instead of facing prison time over the incident. Such is what Axios reporter Andrew Solender posted on X, saying, “Bowman spox says the AG agreed to withdraw the charge in three months if he formally apologizes and pays a $1,000 fine.”
Solender quoted Bowman as having admitted to pulling the fire alarm and saying he looks forward to the charges being dropped, saying, “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 spox says the AG agreed to withdraw the charge in three months if he formally apologizes and pays a $1,000 fine.
"I am responsible for activating a fire alarm, I will be paying the fine issued, and look forward to these charges being ultimately dropped." https://t.co/oftSAWp38b
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) October 25, 2023
The original warrant for Bowman’s arrest stated, “[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.”
Featured image credit: By Messiah Baptist Church – https://www.facebook.com/messiahyonkersny/photos/pcb.4940536706004177/4940532659337915/, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=117164566
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