Rep. Jamaal Bowman Doubles Down on Claim He Accidentally Pulled Fire Alarm: ‘Just in a Rush to Go Vote’

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., on Monday defended his pulling of a House fire alarm, saying he's shocked at how much attention the incident has received.

Bowman maintained that his pulling the fire alarm in the Canon Office Building before a budget vote was an accident.

"I don’t know why this has gotten so much attention. I was literally just in a rush to go vote, man! That's all it was!" Bowman told a Fox News reporter on Monday.

Bowman was seen in surveillance footage pulling the fire alarm. He said the doors in front of him were locked and he pulled the alarm thinking it would open the doors.

Some Republican lawmakers have argued Bowman intentionally pulled the alarm to disrupt House business. Former President Donald Trump called for the lawmaker to be prosecuted and "imprisoned."

Bowman said on Monday he takes responsibility for what he did and said the investigation "will sort everything else out."

"Listen, I take responsibility for what I did, but, like I said, I was in a rush to go vote and the investigation will sort everything else out," he said.

A messaging notice from Bowman's office to fellow Democrats was released Monday that included talking points to defend him over the fire alarm incident.

The talking points include blaming Republican "incompetence" for a last minute budget vote and accused them of trying to "distract from the fact that they cannot govern."

Bowman took to X on Monday to respond to the messaging guidance and and said the use of the word "Nazi" was inappropriate. The Democrat said the word was used without his consent.

The lawmaker was responding to one of nine message points that condemned Republicans for focusing on the fire alarm incident instead of "Nazi members of their party."