Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) on Saturday pulled a fire alarm in a House building in the midst of chaotic and tense negotiations on Capitol Hill to avert a government shutdown.
Bowman was caught on camera pulling the alarm in the Cannon House building right around the time that Democrats on the House floor were stalling for time in order to review a new GOP proposal for keeping the government open.
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Bowman’s chief of staff Sarah Iddrissu later tweeted that it was an accident.
It’s not clear how it could be an accident to pull a fire alarm. Bowman later told reporters he “didn’t know it was going to trip the whole building” when he pulled the fire alarm and caused an evacuation.
U.S. Capitol Police were reportedly circulating a photo of Bowman setting off the alarm.
Paul Starks, a spokesman for the Capitol Police, confirmed more details and said they are investigating how this happened.
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“Today at 12:05 p.m., a fire alarm was activated on the 2nd floor of the Cannon House Office Building. The building was evacuated while USCP officers checked the building. The building was reopened after it was determined that there was not a threat. An investigation into what happened and why continues,” Starks said in a statement.
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) said Bowman committed a felony by pulling a fire alarm when there was no emergency, and suggested he did so to help Democrats run out the clock during debate on a government spending bill.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told CNN’s Manu Raju that the incident is “embarrassing” and that Bowman “should not go without punishment.”
Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), the chairman of the House Administration Committee, tweeted that the committee is looking into what happened.
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A request for comment from Bowman’s office was not immediately returned.
Shortly after the strange incident, Bowman joined virtually all Democrats in supporting the short-term government funding.
