US Representative Pulls Fire Alarm During Meeting

On September 30, Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building shortly before the House was scheduled to vote on a governmental funding bill regarding a governmental shutdown. The incident forced House members to temporarily evacuate, however, they returned shortly and voted on the bill. Bowman publicly claimed it was an accident, saying he was trying to open a door, and pulled the alarm thinking that would open it. However, Republicans believe it was an attempt to delay voting and Representative Nicole Milliotakis introduced a resolution to get Bowman expelled. The day following the incident the Capitol Police opened an investigation into the situation, however, nothing has been cleared. The Monday following the incident, Bowman caused more controversy when his office circulated a memo to the House of Democrats that include the term “Nazi.” Bowman then released an apology on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating, “I just became aware that in our messaging guidance, there was inappropriate use of the term Nazi without my consent. I condemn the use of the term Nazi out of its precise definition. It is important to specify the term Nazi to refer to members of the Nazi party & neo-Nazis.”