New pics throw cold water on Rep. Jamaal Bowman's excuses for pulling fire alarm in House building

[useapen]

His excuses are going up in smoke.

Images of the fire alarm that Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulled in a House office
building as his fellow Democrats were trying to delay a key vote to fund
the government appear to douse cold water on his claims that the move was
just a boneheaded mistake.

The bright red alarm is clearly marked with the word “FIRE” — and is right
next to two signs that provide explicit details on how to open the
emergency door at the Cannon House Office Building, photos show.

“Emergency Exit Only!” the signs read. “Push until alarm sounds (3
seconds). Door will unlock in 30 seconds.”

The strident socialist New York lawmaker, whose gaffe was caught on
surveillance video, simply needed to turn his head to the right to see the
blaring signs.

But Bowman claimed he thought pulling the alarm would open the door.

“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,” Bowman said in a statement
posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“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.”

Sarah Iddrissu, his chief of staff, added in a statement on social media
that, “Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building
alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote.”

But many lawmakers and political observers weren’t buying it — with a
growing chorus of Republicans on Sunday accusing Bowman of pulling the
alarm as a tactic to delay the House vote on a GOP stopgap spending bill.

“This is not confusing at all,” former Michigan Republican congressman
Justin Amash wrote on X. “There’s a push bar on the door below the sign.
Members of Congress see these signs all the time and know exactly what
they mean.

“I can’t even imagine thinking it has something to do with a fire alarm
pull on the wall,” Amash added. “Stop excusing his recklessness.”

The wild fire-alarm incident, which triggered an evacuation of the Cannon
Building at around noon Saturday, took place as Democrats were scrambling
over the GOP’s last-minute offer to avert a government shutdown.

Some Bowman critics, including former President Donald Trump, said he
should be arrested and charged for allegedly trying to obstruct an
official government proceeding.

“Will Congressman [Jamaal] Bowman be prosecuted and imprisoned for very
dangerously pulling and setting off the main fire alarm system in order to
stop a Congressional vote that was going on in D.C.,” Trump wrote on Truth
Social.

“It was a very dangerous ‘Obstruction of an Official Proceeding,’ the same
as used against our J-6 prisoners. Actually, his act may have been
worse,’’ the ex-prez said, referencing the Jan. 6 riot in 2021.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) conveyed a similar sentiment — also
bringing up the defendants charged with trying to stop the certification
of President Biden’s 2020 election victory during the rioting at the US
Capitol — when calling out Bowman.

“Jamaal Bowman must be treated exactly the same as Jan 6 defendants. He
was a school principal,” Greene posted on X.

“He knows exactly what pulling a fire alarm means. He did it while the
Dems were trying to stall for time for the Senate and the Dem whip had
just called for a motion to adjourn.”

Obstructing an official government proceeding is illegal under federal law
punishable by fines and “not more than 20 years.”

Bowman on Saturday insisted to reporters that he wasn’t trying to stall
anything – and just goofed.

“I was rushing to make a vote. I was trying to get through the door,” he
said. “I thought the alarm would open the door. I didn’t mean to cause
confusion.

“I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay the
vote,” he added. “It was the exact opposite — I was trying urgently to get
to a vote, which I ultimately did.”

Capitol Police said they were probing the incident, and on Saturday
released a still image of Bowman pulling the alarm.

The Republican-controlled House Administration Committee has also launched
an investigation.

https://nypost.com/2023/10/01/new-pics-douse-jamaal-bowmans-excuses-for-
house-fire-alarm-gaffe/