The United States Capitol Police signaled that Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., was at least somewhat truthful on why he pulled a fire alarm in a House building over the weekend.
In a Monday update, authorities did not identify Bowman by name, referring to him instead as a man "seen trying to exit the door in the Cannon [House Office] Building and then pulling the fire alarm."
The description suggests that Bowman was trying to leave the building the entire time, a claim he previously made in a press release on the incident. However, it stopped short of calling his decision an accident.
Capitol Police specifically noted that signs existed in and around the door and alarm with "clear language that explained the door was secured and marked as an emergency exit only."
The incident reportedly occurred at around 12:05 p.m. ET on Saturday — the same time a vote took place in the lower chamber on a pivotal stopgap spending bill, which eventually passed.
Bowman's actions prompted a "floor-by-floor" evacuation by the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department of Washington, D.C., the Capitol Police said.
While Bowman has claimed his decision was a mistake spurred by him rushing to make the vote on the stopgap bill, some Republican lawmakers have accused him of intentionally trying to stop the vote.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., urged the chamber's Ethics panel to look into the move and called out the double standard on his treatment of those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
"This should not go without punishment," McCarthy said Saturday. "I'm going to have a discussion with the Democratic leader about it. But this should not go without punishment. This is an embarrassment."
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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