The House voted Thursday to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for setting off a fire alarm in a Capitol office building in order to delay a vote to prevent a government shutdown earlier this year.
The House voted 214-191 to reprimand the freshman lawmaker from the Bronx and Westchester, with 211 Republicans and three Democrats voting in favor.
Reps. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Chris Pappas (D-NH), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) voted against their colleague. Twenty-three people were absent from the chamber.
Five members voted present, including Reps. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), Deborah Ross (D-NC), and Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) of the House Ethics Committee, which declined to investigate the incident.
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), who also sits on the ethics panel, disagreed with his vote, saying Bowman “was faced with multiple opportunities to defuse the situation” but “chose not to alert” law enforcement officials. Capitol Police, “showing a disgraceful disregard for public safety.”
“As a former high school principal and sitting member of Congress, there is no excuse for this type of behavior,” Joyce said in a statement. “When the House Ethics Committee met to address this matter, as required following the indictment of a member for criminal conduct, I was surprised and disappointed that the majority of members of this bipartisan committee did not agree to take any action.” or additional research. “
The House voted to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman on Thursday for pulling a fire alarm more than two months ago. USCP
“Therefore, since we will not be taking this case to the House Ethics Committee after that decision, I thought it appropriate to vote to censure Jamaal Bowman for his disgraceful actions,” he added.
Bowman is the 27th member to be censured in the House after Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) was reprimanded last month for promoting calls to eradicate Israel and making other anti-Semitic comments during the ongoing Israeli war. Jewish state against Hamas terrorists.
House Democrats on Wednesday failed to block a final vote on the resolution, which was introduced as a privilege motion by Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) earlier this week, meaning it required consideration in a within 48 hours.
At the time, his party was trying to delay a vote to avoid a government shutdown. AP
The resolution stated that Bowman “disrupted the work of Congress while a vote was in progress” and his actions were a “theatrical attempt to cause panic, endangering the safety and well-being of House members, staff and members.” of the board of directors.” to the public on the Capitol grounds.”
“It is painfully obvious to me, to my colleagues and to the American people that the Republican Party is not serious and incapable of legislating,” Bowman, 47, said on the House floor Wednesday. “I in no way obstructed official proceedings.”
The “Squad” representative had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor the previous month for falsely activating the fire alarm at the Cannon House office building on September 30 and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine.
The resolution states that Bowman “disrupted the work of Congress while a vote was in progress” and his actions were a “theatrical attempt to cause panic.” Breitbart News
The agreement was reached between Bowman and DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, allowing the congressman to have the charges dismissed after three months. He also agreed to write a letter of personal apology to U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger.
In a statement after the plea deal was announced, Bowman thanked both the D.C. Attorney General’s Office and the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Capitol Police for having “agreed that I did not obstruct nor had the intention to obstruct any vote or procedure of the House.”
But a spokesperson for the US Capitol Police issued a statement disagreeing with the congressman.
The “Squad” representative had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor the previous month for falsely activating the fire alarm at the Cannon House office building. Breitbart News
“Our General Counsel, nor anyone in our Department, made that determination. “We sent the thoroughly investigated case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and prosecutors there did not pursue it,” the spokesperson said.
The House had been deliberating a bill to extend government spending at current levels through Nov. 17 at the time of the false alarm.
Bowman said he “thought the alarm would open the door” and opened it “accidentally,” adding that “I was just trying to get to my vote and the door that’s normally open wasn’t open, it was closed.”
“Our General Counsel, nor anyone in our Department, made that determination. “We sent the thoroughly investigated case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and prosecutors there did not pursue it,” a Capitol Police spokesperson said. Rod Lamkey – CNP
However, security camera footage shows Bowman removing two emergency exit signs from the doors before setting off the alarm and then running away.
A Capitol Police investigator who investigated the incident said other security footage shows the Democratic socialist “jogging” down the stairs after setting off the alarm and “walking at a normal pace” as he exited onto New Jersey Avenue.
Bowman later walked past seven Capitol Police officers without telling them about his “accident,” forcing an evacuation of the building that lasted an hour and a half, the investigator said.
However, security camera footage shows Bowman removing two emergency exit signs from the doors before setting off the alarm and then running away. Twitter
The lawmaker is expected to return to court on Jan. 29, 2024, to evaluate his compliance with the plea agreement and consider dismissing the charge.
He will face at least three primary challengers next year in New York’s 16th Congressional District, including Westchester County Executive George Latimer, financial executive Martin Dolan and Michael Gerald, a Baptist church pastor and former state trooper. from New Jersey.
Gerald had told The Post after the plea deal was announced that the congressman’s actions in pulling the fire alarm were “the height of idiocy.”
“He heard, as we all heard when we went to school, ‘Don’t set off the fire alarm,’” he said, noting that Bowman must have “presided over countless fire drills” as a former high school principal.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a pro-Israel candidate, also entered the race, releasing a primary campaign video the day before Bowman’s censure in which he chastised the Democratic Socialist for voting against a resolution. that condemned Hamas.
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