Donald Trump on Sunday claimed that Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulling a fire alarm at a Congressional office building was worse than the ex-president’s supporters storming the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power. He called for the New York Democrat to be imprisoned.
Trump’s rant comparing Bowman’s actions on Saturday with the mass violence of Jan. 6, 2021, built to an all-caps crescendo on Truth Social: “HE MUST SUFFER THEIR SAME FATE. WHEN WILL HIS TRIAL BEGIN???”
“Will Congressman Jamal [sic] 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.”
Bowman was caught on camera triggering the alarm in the Cannon House Office Building around when Democrats were stalling on the House floor so they could peruse a GOP proposal to avert a government shutdown. The Cannon building, which is across the street from the Capitol, was evacuated. Congress later passed a temporary bill that was signed by President Joe Biden.
Bowman’s office said it was an accident, although as HuffPost noted previously, “it’s not clear how it could be an accident to pull a fire alarm.”
The lawmaker attempted to explain his actions in a statement: “I want to personally clear up confusion surrounding today’s events. 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. 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.”
“But I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay any vote,” he continued. “It was the exact opposite ― I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I ultimately did and joined my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to keep our government open.”
Republicans have called for his prosecution and expulsion.