Fox News host Emily Compagno said New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman should face a lengthy prison term for his alleged fire alarm stunt inside the House of Representatives. Compagno argued that law enforcement should charge him with illegal obstruction of justice – an offense with a hefty prison term of up to 30 years.
Ms. Compagno claims there is a complete lack of accountability and “a culture of lawlessness” in the White House and the broader Biden administration. “I find it reprehensible, and I find it pathetic, that a sitting congressman would pull the fire alarm,” she added.
Rep. Bowman denies wrongdoing and said he thought a lever he pulled would open a door, but Republicans responded with incredulity and pointed out that the lever is bright red and has the word “FIRE” on it.
The incident occurred just as Members of Congress were gathered to vote on legislation intended to prevent a government shutdown on Saturday, September 30. Critics say Bowman pulled the alarm to disrupt the vote. House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil said it was unclear why Bowman set off the alarm, adding, “His initial explanation, that it was an accident, doesn’t seem to really pass muster.”
The row deepened when GOP members called for Bowman to be expelled from the House, and he was forced to disown comments in a memo from his office that described his GOP counterparts as “Nazis.” The memo stated that Republicans should “focus their energy on the Nazi members of their party before anything else.”
Bowman distanced himself from the comments on Twitter, saying the word “Nazis” was included without his consent, and he condemns the use of the term “out of its precise definition.”
It is not the first time Rep. Bowman has been in hot water on Capitol Hill. In May, he had a furious row with Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene on the steps of Congress. She accused him of aggression, and he accused her of racism.
