Jamaal Bowman Must Be Prosecuted
If you believe that January 6th rioters should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, you should also believe Jamaal Bowman should be prosecuted as well.
In either a bold act of legislative cowardice or an instance of galactic stupidity, Congressman Jamaal Bowman pulled a fire alarm yesterday interrupting a House of Representatives vote on the proposed Continuing Resolution to keep the government open:
Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman acknowledged triggering a fire alarm Saturday in one of the U.S. Capitol office buildings as lawmakers scrambled to pass a bill to fund the government before the midnight shutdown deadline.
The fire alarm sounded out around noon in the Cannon House Office Building and prompted a building-wide evacuation at a time when the House was in session and staffers were working in the building. The building was reopened an hour later after Capitol Police determined it was not a threat.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has a few things on his plate this weekend, has placed Bowmann under investigation:
McCarthy went on to say that the Ethics Committee should take the pulled fire alarm "seriously."
"This should not go without punishment," McCarthy said. āIām gonna have a discussion with the Democratic leader about it. But this should not go without punishment. This is an embarrassment.ā
Bowman released a statement that is so incredibly laughable it has to be a rib:
If Bowman really thought a fire alarm would activate a door, that would mean that Bowman has a severe, undiagnosed intellectual disability that has not been disclosed to the electorate.
Short of that, considering my four-year-old knows not to touch a fire alarm, it means that Bowman knew exactly what he was doing.
That means what Bowman did was, in fact, Interfering with an Official Proceeding by knowingly pulling a fire alarm during a Congressional vote. Considering the number of people who have already been justifiably charged with Disruption of an Official Proceeding, that means Bowman should also be so charged:
The lesser offense, a false emergency report, is a misdemeanor under District of Columbia law and punishable by up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine. Falsely pulling a fire alarm probably also constitutes illegal obstruction of congressional proceedings, a felony under federal law, and could conceivably be tried as an obstruction of justice charge under D.C. law, which includes "corruptly, or by threats of force, any way obstructs or impedes or endeavors to obstruct or impede the due administration of justice in any official proceeding."
If you believe, as I do, that January 6th rioters should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, you should also believe Jamaal Bowman should be prosecuted as well. A Member of Congress is not above the law in this regardā¦