A Democratic congressman was censured by the House of Representatives on Thursday after deliberately setting off a fire alarm at the US Capitol complex that forced the evacuation of an office building ahead of a crucial vote.
Jamaal Bowman had already admitted the misdemeanor in DC Superior Court in October, where he agreed to pay a $1,000 fine and write an apology to police in return for the charges being withdrawn in three months.
Three Democrats joined Republicans to pass the censure, which forced the New York congressman to stand in the well of the House while he was admonished in front of colleagues.
Bowman, 47, said he was rushing from his office to make the September 30 vote on a funding bill aimed at averting a government shutdown and pulled the alarm in an attempt open a door he couldn’t get through.
That caused Cannon House office block near the main Capitol building to be evacuated for an hour and Republicans say the former school principal, who was captured on camera, was seeking to stall the vote.
“While the House was working tirelessly to avert a government shutdown, Representative Bowman was working nefariously to prevent a vote,” said Michigan…
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