Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who faces potential federal charges for pulling a fire alarm to delay a House vote on the stopgap resolution to avert a shutdown, is calling on his fellow Democrats to support him and has sent out talking points that blaming “Nazi members” of the Republican Party.
Bowman could face as much as 20 years in prison for “corruptly” obstructing an official proceeding under 18 U.S. Code 1512(c) and has consistently claimed the pulling of the fire alarm was accidental, despite the hallway and doors being clearly marked as an emergency exit only and the fire alarm being a standard alarm that requires multiple actions to trigger. Republicans are drafting resolutions to censure or expel Bowman, and now Bowman’s office has distributed a memo to members of his party, complete with talking points.
“On his way to votes today, Congressman Jamaal Bowman was trying to leave the Cannon House Office Building through the exit he regularly uses for votes,” the memo, titled “MESSAGING GUIDANCE: Supporting Congressman Jamaal Bowman After Accidental Fire Alarm” reads. “He was rushing to the House floor to prevent himself from missing a vote, and due to confusing signage and an honest mistake, he pulled the alarm in an attempt to open the door. He was not attempting to delay the vote that he intended to vote yes on, and was simply just trying to rush to the Capitol. Henceforth, MAGA Republicans have used this as an opportunity to distract from their attempt to shut the government down and to minimize January 6th insurrectionists.”
🚨🚨NEW — Capitol Police are circulating this photo of a man pulling the fire alarm in Cannon. Looks a lot like Jamaal Bowman pic.twitter.com/khzpigSvWI
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) September 30, 2023
There are nine suggested talking points for his Democrat colleagues to use with the media, including the following beauty, “I believe Congressman Bowman when he says this was an accident. Republicans need to instead focus their energy on the Nazi members of their party before anything else.”
Related: All The Evidence You Need That Rep. Bowman Did Not ‘Accidentally’ Pull the Fire Alarm
Though this one is equally ridiculous and doesn’t even address the incident, “There are multiple insurrectionist supporters in Congress and more who supported a coup and support Trumpʼs Big Lie. Thatʼs what they should be focused on. Instead their focus on Rep. Bowman is an attempt to minimize January 6th.”
You can read the entire memo here if you’re looking for a laugh.
Footage of Bowman and photographs of the door he attempted to pass through make it clear that there was nothing confusing about the signage.
This doesn’t really seem that confusing pic.twitter.com/EXM5VOWJAp
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) September 30, 2023
Bowman, the founder and former principal of the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, in Eastchester, Bronx, N.Y., most certainly would know what a fire alarm looks like and wouldn’t accidentally pull the alarm. So naturally, as Bowman faces the possibility of federal charges, he’s pushing an absurd story and trying to make evil Republicans the issue, not his own actions.
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