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Former President Donald Trump on Sunday called for Representative Jamaal Bowman to "suffer" like January 6, 2021, Capitol rioters, after the congressman pulled a fire alarm at a U.S. Capitol office building as lawmakers sought to reach an agreement to fund the federal government in order to avert a shutdown.
The incident took place on Saturday in the Cannon building, the oldest congressional office building in Washington, D.C., where Bowman's office is located, amid the frenzied efforts by the House to pass a stopgap funding bill and avert a government shutdown. Bowman, a Democrat who has represented New York's 16th District since 2021, pulled a fire alarm near one of the building's exits, prompting an evacuation.
In the wake of the incident, Bowman claimed that he had pulled the fire alarm out of confusion while attempting to open a nearby exit door in a rush to get to the House floor.
"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," the congressman said in a statement. "I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door. I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay any vote."
Numerous Republicans, however, have come forward demanding punishment for Bowman, varying in severity from an ethics inquiry to expulsion from the House to his arrest. Taking to his Truth Social platform, Trump called for the congressman to "suffer" like Jan. 6 rioters, echoing the disputed claims of other Republicans about Bowman's intentions.
"Will Congressman Jamal 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. "His egregious act is covered on tape, a horrible display of nerve and criminality. 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. HE MUST SUFFER THEIR SAME FATE. WHEN WILL HIS TRIAL BEGIN???"
Trump's post referenced one of the charges, obstruction of an official proceeding, that numerous Jan. 6 rioters have been charged and convicted for, owing to their admitted efforts to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election by Congress. Trump and other Republicans have regularly claimed that the rioters have been treated unfairly, both in terms of the severity of their charges and their conditions in jail, arguments which opponents have strongly disputed.
Newsweek reached out to Bowman's office via email for comment.
Meanwhile, subsequent images of the signage around the exit door have prompted some to empathize with Bowman's claimed confusion, while others said that the explanation was not sufficient. Republicans have accused the congressman of attempting to create a delay in the voting process for the funding bill and allow Democrats more time to work through it, though only the Cannon building, not the main Capitol building where voting was taking place, was impacted.
A still image of Bowman pulling the fire alarm has been circulated, but the full security video, which could illuminate the fuller extent of his thought process and actions, has not.
In a piece published on Sunday, Media Matters senior fellow Matt Gertz dismissed the comparisons of Bowman to Jan. 6 insurrectionists by the likes of Trump and other prominent right-wing figures as "laughable" and an attempt to distract from Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy's troubled attempts to pass a long-term funding bill. Media Matters' piece also cited past instances of lawmakers having trouble with doors on Capitol Hill, and noted that the Cannon building's doors are locked and alarmed on weekends, which might have further tripped up Bowman.
"Right-wing media influencers and pundits spent the weekend trying to refocus the public's attention on a Democratic member of Congress who blundered by pulling a fire alarm in a House office building during the voting process," Gertz wrote.
He added: "They have accused [Bowman] of 'insurrection,' comparing his actions to those of participants in the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, as part of Donald Trump's attempt to subvert the results of the 2020 election to remain in power. This comparison's moral bankruptcy is a feature, not a bug, serving to drive more attention to the right's claims—and away from McCarthy's failure."
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more