Rep. Bowman of New York charged with felony, ordered to pay fine after setting off House fire alarm

(John Minchillo/Associated Press)

Rep. Bowman of New York charged with felony, ordered to pay fine after setting off House fire alarm

LINDSAY WITHURST

Oct. 25, 2023

Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman was charged Wednesday with a felony for activating a fire alarm as lawmakers rushed to pass a funding bill before the September government shutdown deadline.

He is expected to plead guilty, formally apologize and pay a $1,000 fine. The alarm led to the evacuation of an office building. It reopened an hour later after Capitol Police determined it was not a threat.

The New York lawmaker has acknowledged raising the alarm, telling reporters within hours that it was a mistake. He said he rushed to vote and tried to get through a door that is normally open but was closed over the weekend.

At the time of the evacuation, Democrats in the House of Representatives were delaying a vote on a funding bill to keep federal agencies open. They had said they needed time to revise a bill to avoid a shutdown that Republicans abruptly abandoned before quickly voting on it.

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Bowman was treated like “anyone who breaks the law” and has agreed to pay the maximum fine, a spokesperson for the District of Columbia attorney general said.

Bowman told police he did not intend to cause alarm or disrupt congressional proceedings, court documents show. He said he didn’t immediately tell anyone the alarm went off because he was in a hurry to vote.

Under an agreement with the D.C. attorney general, the charges will be dropped within three months if the congressman issues a formal apology to the Capitol Police and pays a $1,000 fine.

I am grateful for the swift resolution of the Office of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia on this matter and grateful that the Office of the General Counsel of the United States Capitol Police agreed that I had not received any have obstructed or intend to obstruct any vote or proceeding in the House of Representatives, Bowman said in an emailed statement. I am responsible for activating a fire alarm, I will pay the fine imposed and I look forward to this charge eventually being dropped.

Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

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