On Saturday, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) made a desperate move in order to attempt to delay a vote on the House floor for a 45-day continuing resolution to fund the government. The Democrat lawmaker pulled the fire alarm in order to force an evacuation of the Cannon office building and thus allow Democrats more time to read the stopgap measure.
Bowman was caught on camera by Capitol Police pulling the alarm near an entrance thus forcing all staff, lawmakers, and other persons inside the building to evacuate. His efforts, however, seemingly were without consequence given that the House passed the 45-day spending measure on a vote of 335 to 91. The bill will now head to the Senate where the likelihood of a shutdown seems minimal.
This has prompted many to point out that pulling the fire alarm is against the law, more specifically it is a violation of 1512(c)(2) obstruction of an official proceeding.
https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1708188510136496593
The Capitol Police released a photo of Bowman in the act which has led lawmakers and conservative influencers to call for his arrest.
https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1708192193993703504
In response to the backlash, Bowman's spokeswoman Emma Simon said, “Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote. The Congressman regrets any confusion.”
https://twitter.com/andrewsolender/status/1708194455835013498
Reportedly, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) is working up a resolution to expel Bowman following the incident.
https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1708197411405893919
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
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