It's been a very bad couple of days for Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) after he pulled the fire alarm on Saturday in the Cannon building as Democrats were trying to delay a vote. When you do it before the eyes of the world and get caught on camera doing it, that's a special kind of stupid. 

BREAKING: Capitol police release photo of Jamaal Bowman pulling the fire alarm. pic.twitter.com/XpUoEu9lU4

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 30, 2023

Now Bowman and his staff have moved on to the next part—the backpedaling and justifying part. 

His staff admitted that he did it on Saturday but came out with some ridiculous excuse about his "confusion" getting to the floor to vote. Then Bowman himself said he pulled the alarm because he thought it would open the door—a door that was an emergency exit which no one was supposed to be going through anyway. As we reported earlier, he allegedly pulled down the signs that were on the door before he tried to push it open and then pulled the fire alarm. 

Bowman has issued a formal statement to explain himself. Did anyone tell him he probably shouldn't be talking when he potentially could be charged with a crime? He doubtless thinks that he will be protected by the magical "D" after his name, and he may be right. You already see people trying to justify his actions, and the media spinning it as a "mistake" of some kind.

Statement from Congressman Jamaal Bowman. pic.twitter.com/v6qjdHNI7T

— Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) October 1, 2023

In the statement, Bowman repeated some of what he and his staff had already said, then added that he met with the "Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police, at their request, and explained what happened." Reality: there was an "alert to find him." He also claimed that he's gone through that emergency door in the past. That's another interesting admission. He claims it's usually open for votes. 

"My hope is that no one will make more of this than it was," Bowman said. Um, Rep. Bowman? You committed a possible crime that caused an evacuation and put people at risk. You shouldn't be acting like somehow you're the aggrieved party and telling us this ridiculous story and then signing off with "Peace and Love." This is a former school principal saying he thinks pulling a fire alarm opens a door. That's a scary thought that we would place any power or responsibility in the hands of such a man. What makes it even more ironic is that Bowman is the guy who goes after everyone else and doesn't want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but he thinks he should just get a free pass here. 

Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) laid a little reality on his statement. 

Has anyone ever told our colleague?

We don’t have to go outside to vote. All House and Senate office buildings are connected to the Capitol with tunnels, for getting to votes quickly. pic.twitter.com/fOzsSYvvD0

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) October 1, 2023

Sherman was even more blunt, "This makes no sense." 

For those who work on Capitol Hill — or even those who don’t — this makes no sense.
1) have you in your life ever activated a fire alarm in a large public building to open a door?
2) there are tunnels that take you from this building straight to the Capitol. It’s very easy. I do… https://t.co/FArSEHn7wz

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 1, 2023

"It’s very easy. I do it daily," the tweet concludes. 

Massie also posted a video of an encounter he had with the "same stable individual" [Bowman] in March. We previously reported on this fiery exchange when Bowman just lost it on Massie. 

In case you missed it, this is the same stable individual who pulled the fire alarm today in the Capitol during votes. https://t.co/9IFpxKYH0a

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) October 1, 2023

Bowman is likely to be spinning a lot, and let's hope there are consequences as the Capitol Police are investigating. As I noted, regardless of the legal consequences, the Republicans are pushing for censure or expulsion.