Rep. Jamaal Bowman Pleads Guilty To Pulling Capitol Fire Alarm

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., on Thursday pleaded guilty to one count of willfully and knowingly pulling a fire alarm during House voting on a stopgap spending measure in September.

Prosecutors said Bowman passed seven officers after exiting the Capitol building and did not inform them that he had pulled the fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building.

In an interview after the incident, Bowman said he was attempting to exit the office building and clarified that he did not intend to cause a fire alarm or security concern and was not trying to disrupt or delay House procedure.

Bowman previously admitted to and apologized for pulling the alarm, which delayed voting by forcing members to evacuate the building for more than an hour. Several Republican lawmakers called for him to be expelled from the legislature over the incident.

After the misdemeanor charge was introduced Wednesday against the congressman, Bowman said he planned to pay the maximum fine associated with the charges — $1,000 — and looks forward to it being "ultimately dropped."

The New York representative's office said Bowman made an agreement with the attorney general's office that the charge would be withdrawn in three months so long as Bowman issued an apology to Capitol Police and paid the fine.