The alarm was set off Sept. 30 in the Cannon office building last month as Republicans sought to initiate voting on a spending measure to keep the government open.

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.

  • money_loo@lemmy.world
    17·
    1 year ago

    The article you didn’t read sources straight from the one responsible.

    In a statement hours after the incident, Bowman said he activated the alarm by mistake after having come across a door that was typically open for votes but would not open that day.

    “I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door. I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused,” he said at the time.

    • aidan@lemmy.worldM
      210·
      1 year ago

      It also said

      House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., said Wednesday that “Bowman’s excuse does not pass the sniff test,” arguing that Bowman “fled the scene” and had not seized multiple opportunities to alert the Capitol Police of his mistake.

      In a charging affidavit released Wednesday, an investigator said that he had reviewed security camera video and that Bowman can be seen pushing multiple doors that would not open before he looked at the emergency fire alarm pull station “and upon seeing it, he reached out and pulled the fire alarm down.”