Democratic New York representative Jamaal Bowman criticized Republicans for drawing “crazy” similarities to the rioters who invaded Congress on January 6 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge and promising to pay a fine for sounding a fire alarm in a legislative facility as a vital vote approached.
Bowman laughed as he informed reporters outside the court in Washington on Thursday, calling that “crazy.”
Yes, that’s absurd that you compared me to insurrectionists right away after what happened on January 6. This is, after all, what they do. They take advantage of any chance they have to weaponize it, diverting our attention from their own dysfunction and the devastation of their own party.
The extreme Marjorie Taylor Greene and then-house speaker Kevin McCarthy were among the Republicans who made the January 6 comparison following the September 30, 2009, incident, in which Bowman was seen on camera setting off the alarm in the Cannon office building as a vote on a temporary funding measure, which ultimately prevented a government shutdown, was about to take place.
McCarthy added, “We watched how people have been treated if they’ve done something wrong in this Capitol,” calling Bowman’s situation “a new low.” It would be intriguing to observe how he is handled and what he was attempting to stop the American people from seeing.
In an effort to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory, a mob led by Donald Trump and instructed to “fight like hell” invaded Congress on January 6, 2021. Though it was unsuccessful, the riot has been connected to nine deaths, including the suicides of law enforcement officers. There have been hundreds of convictions obtained and thousands of arrests, some for seditious conspiracy. Impeached was Trump.
With a quick denial, Bowman stated, “I was hurrying to cast a vote and I came to a door that is normally open for votes but today was not open.” I am embarrassed to say that I thought the fire alarm would open the door, so I accidentally set it off. I’m sorry for any confusion this may have caused and I regret this.
Bowman will “plead guilty and have consented to pay the maximum fine,” according to confirmation from the DC attorney general’s office this Wednesday. Congressman Bowman was handled in the District of Columbia just like any other lawbreaker, according to a spokesman. We charged the only felony for which we had jurisdiction based on the evidence that the Capitol Police submitted.
Bowman issued a statement expressing his gratitude for the prompt resolution by the District of Columbia Attorney General’s office on the matter, as well as his appreciation for the confirmation by the US Capitol Police General Counsel’s Office that he did not seek to block any House vote proceedings.
“I will pay the fine imposed, I am accountable for setting off a fire alarm, and I hope that these charges are eventually dropped.”
In addition, he forecast that Republicans will “attempt to use this to distract everyone from their mess,” a reference to the three-week-long impasse over McCarthy’s replacement as speaker, which was resolved on Wednesday with the appointment of hardline Trumpist Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
Bowman talked with the media after being called to court on Thursday.
He recalled September 30, saying, “You remember that day.” “There was a lot going on, it seemed. The government was hard to stay open. An adjournment motion was made. I was just trying to move downstream, you know, in a hurry. At one point, I was really running to the Capitol. That was entirely my fault; I was simply rushing.
Former Bronx school administrator Bowman has frequently been the focus of Republican vitriol because he is a vocal and outspoken progressive.
A resolution to officially reprimand Bowman and “remove him from all committee assignments for the remainder of the 118th Congress” was introduced on Wednesday by Republican Lisa McLain of Michigan.
The Republican head of the House administration committee, Bryan Steil, demanded an ethics probe. Steil declared that Bowman’s justification “does not pass the sniff test” and continued, stating that “Representative Bowman fled the scene after pulling the fire alarm, passed by multiple Capitol police officers, and had every opportunity to alert USCP of his mistake.”
“I look forward to moving on from this and to continue working hard to deliver for New Yorkers,” Bowman remarked.