Angry Republicans are demanding the expulsion and prosecution of the Democrat who triggered a fire alarm during a critical shutdown vote, drawing comparisons to the January 6 rioters.
New York representative Jamaal Bowman is accused of being captured on camera while pulling the alarm in the Cannon Building, which accommodates various Congressional office spaces.
This incident occurred as lawmakers rushed to approve a plan to fund the government before it ran out of money at midnight on Saturday.
The actions of Representative Bowman have ignited fury, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene leading the charge in calling for his prosecution.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, the congresswoman wrote: “Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulled the fire alarm in the Cannon building this afternoon and interrupted the official proceedings of the House as Republicans worked to keep the government open.
“I’m calling on the DOJ to prosecute him using the same law they used to prosecute J6 defendants for interfering with an official proceeding.
“The Democrats literally will do anything to shut OUR government down because billions aren’t going to their favorite country: Ukraine.”
She continued while standing on the Capitol steps, telling members of the media: “I want to talk about Jamaal Bowman pulling the fire alarm. Capitol police are questioning him right now because it’s on video, he violated the exact same law that January 6th defendants are being prosecuted for every single day.
“He violated the exact same law, interrupting an official proceeding by pulling a fire alarm, it’s on video and the Capitol police have the information. This is outrageous.”
She said she hasn’t seen the video herself but is demanding the Department of Justice “prosecute him the same way they are prosecuted January 6th defendants”.
Other Republicans were quick to condemn his actions including Andy Briggs, who represents Arizona’s 5th congressional district.
Taking to Twitter, he said: “Radical Dem Rep. Jamaal Bowman just pulled the fire alarm in the House’s Cannon Building, which forced an evacuation and delayed votes. I view this as interfering with official legislative proceedings. He is an insurrectionist.”
But the former school principal has since claimed that he pulled the alarm as he thought it would “open the door.”
In a statement, he wrote: “I want to personally clear up confusion surrounding today’s events. Today, as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but today would not open.
“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 went on: “I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay the vote. It was the exact opposite, I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I ultimately did and joined my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to keep our government open.
“I also met after the vote with the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police, at their request, and explained what had happened.”
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