It’s official.

Democrat Jamaal Bowman has been criminally charged for pulling the fire alarm on Capitol Hill.

He pulled it as Congress was voting last month to avoid a government shutdown.

It was a critical vote, and he reportedly pulled the fire alarm to disrupt the proceedings and cause chaos.

Here’s the issue, though.

You may have seen the media talking about the Republican “circus” in the House.

But Republicans have been behaving with respect and poise.

Juvenile acts such as pulling the fire alarm, screaming, and interrupting are only being done by Democrat politicians, so why do Republicans keep getting a bad rap?

If he’s convicted and found guilty, the Democrat Representative could face 6 months in prison as well as a $1,000 fine.

All reporting indicates that Bowman intends on pleading guilty and paying the fine.

Per NBC News:

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., indicated Wednesday that he will plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge over pulling a fire alarm in a congressional building on Capitol Hill last month.

Bowman has agreed to pay the maximum fine of $1,000 for one misdemeanor count of falsely pulling a fire alarm — a charge that carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail. He will also provide a formal apology to Capitol Police.

“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 Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the D.C. Attorney General’s Office said in a separate statement that Bowman “is pleading guilty and has agreed to pay the maximum fine.”

Bowman’s office said he made an agreement with the D.C. Attorney General’s Office that would lead to the charge being withdrawn in three months on the condition that he pay the fine and submit the apology letter.

For some reason, I get the feeling that the punishment and blowback would be much more severe had Bowman been a Republican.

Still, this is better than no reprimand at all.

This is also proof that rather than negotiating with Republicans, there are plenty of elected Democrat officials who would rather shut down all debate.

How is that good for democracy?

Bowman claims that his actions were an accident.

But that doesn’t necessarily make sense when you take a closer look at what happened.

Here’s how the Daily Mail breaks it down:

Bowman, a former school principal, said he had pulled the alarm trying to open a door in a rush to get to a vote.

But the incident came as Democrats were trying to delay a vote on a bill to extend the government funding deadline and avert a government shutdown.

‘I thought the alarm would open the door,’ Bowman told reporters about the incident.

‘I was rushing to make a vote, I was trying to get to a door.’

‘[Bowman] pulled a fire alarm in Cannon this morning,’ a spokesperson for the Congressional Administration Committee said. ‘An investigation into why it was pulled is underway.’

Bowman called the notion that he pulled the fire alarm to delay a vote ‘complete BS.’

Bowman could be telling the truth.

However, there were very clearly signs stating that it was a fire alarm and not to pull in case of emergency.

Furthermore, given the fact that he was a school principal, you’d think he would have encountered such doors before.

It also isn’t a good look when the rest of the Democrats were trying to delay the votes.

What do you think?

Do you think Bowman got what he deserved?

Or do you believe his side of the story?

Let us know in the comments below!

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.


We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.