Rep. Bowman Pleads Guilty to Pulling Fire Alarm in Capitol Building

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor on Thursday for falsely pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building last month. 

For Context: Shortly before the House of Representatives was set to vote on a bill to fund the federal government late last month, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) pulled a fire alarm inside the House office building, leading the building to evacuate and delaying the vote. Bowman’s critics, including then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), accused Bowman of intentionally pulling the fire alarm to delay the vote. Bowman denied this, claiming in a statement, “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.”

Details: Under the agreement with prosecutors, Bowman’s charge will be withdrawn if he pays a $1,000 fine and writes an apology to Capitol police. Speaking with reporters after the arraignment, Bowman stated, “I really regret that this caused so much confusion and that people had to evacuate, and I just caused a disturbance. I hate that. It’s pretty embarrassing.”

How the Media Covered It: Bowman’s arraignment was covered moderately across the spectrum. CNN’s (Lean Left bias) coverage made no mention of allegations that Bowman intentionally pulled the fire alarm to delay the vote, while the Daily Caller’s (Right bias) coverage centered entirely around these allegations.