Jamaal Bowman charged for pulling fire alarm amid House shutdown vote

Jamaal Bowman is officially facing one misdemeanor charge over an incident where he pulled a fire alarm handle in a House office building ahead of a major vote in the House government funding battle.

Mr Bowman was roundly criticised by Republicans after he was seen setting off the fire alarm on security cameras; the moment occurred on 30 September as the House was debating legislation to keep the government open on a short-term basis given the chamber’s inability to pass budget resolutions. At the time, he denied attempting to delay any votes or disrupt House business in any way.

The alarm in question was triggered in the Cannon House Office Building, which is attached via a tunnel system to the main Capitol complex. The alarm did not sound in the US Capitol itself, where the vote occurred.

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