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Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has jumped to the defense of fellow New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman as he faces criticism for setting off a fire alarm at the Capitol on Saturday.
AOC told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that Bowman’s actions occurred in a “moment of panic,” exacerbated by the pressure and chaos of efforts to prevent a government shutdown — which Congress successfully did late Saturday .
“I think there’s something to be said that the government is about to shut down, there’s a voting clock running, the exits that are normally open in that building were suddenly closed,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Tapper replied, “So he pulled the fire alarm?”
AOC then tried to defend her colleague by attacking the Republican Party for “protecting” New York Congressman George Santos, who is facing charges of money laundering and lying to Congress.
Bowman issued a statement claiming that while rushing to get there in time to vote for an emergency bill that would keep the government open, he “triggered the fire alarm, thinking that would open the door.”
AOC called the series of events a “misunderstanding” that Bowman is working to resolve with the House of Representatives and the U.S. Capitol Police
Bowman issued a statement claiming that while rushing to get there in time to vote for an emergency bill that would keep the government open, he “triggered the fire alarm, thinking that would open the door.”
The incident, which was caught on camera and has since spread far and wide, has Capitol lawmakers and their staffs in panic as they semi-seriously tried to understand why Bowman would think a clearly marked fire alarm would open a door to open.
The House of Representatives was about to vote on a bipartisan bill to keep the government open for 45 days and prevent a shutdown.
The bill received overwhelming support from Democrats, but members of the party tried to buy time to read it after it was unveiled by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
AOC called the series of events a “misunderstanding” that Bowman is working to resolve with the House of Representatives and the U.S. Capitol Police.
Bowman, who has represented New York’s 16th Congressional District since 2021, said he regrets his actions and apologized for any confusion he caused.
Republicans, including Santos, moved quickly to ride the wave of political momentum created by Bowman.
On Saturday, GOP members of Congress launched an investigation and began preparing legislation to expel Bowman from the House of Representatives for allegedly obstructing official proceedings.
Embattled House Speaker Kevin McCarthy compared Bowman’s actions to what happened on January 6, 2021 at the same complex.
“We’ve seen how people are treated in this Capitol when they’ve done something wrong. “It will be interesting to see how he is dealt with what he tried to hinder when it came to the American public,” he said.
The incident, which was caught on camera and has since spread far and wide, has Capitol lawmakers and their staffs in panic as they semi-seriously tried to understand why Bowman would think a clearly marked fire alarm would open a door to open.
Firecracker Marjorie Taylor Greene said the Justice Department should prosecute Bowman the same way it prosecuted the Jan. 6 participants.
“It’s exactly the same law,” she said, referring to the federal statute that prohibits obstructing or obstructing official proceedings.
AOC blasted Republicans for trying to evict Bowman, who “tried to escape from a vestibule in a moment of panic” but “protected” Santos.
“(Bowman) apologized,” she said. “And (Republicans) are protecting someone who not only committed fraud, not only defrauded veterans, not only lied to investigators in Congress, but openly gloated about it, which is absolutely humiliating to the Republican Party.”
Her GOP colleagues, she added, “really need to check their own values.”
Santos, himself the target of AOC’s defense, also jumped in to mock Bowman’s alleged mistake.
In a short video on social media, Santos, dressed in a characteristically elaborate outfit, distributed a fake PSA to children about the use of a fire alarm, apparently mocking the lawmaker who apparently did not have that information to hand on Saturday.
“Hello boys and girls, this is Congressman George Santos. This is a fire alarm,” he said, pointing to what is indeed a standard fire alarm.
‘If you lift this part here and pull it down, you will trigger an alarm. Do not do it. Stay good, kids,” he said before walking away. Post X (formerly Twitter) has been viewed almost 700,000 times.
Santos captioned the video, “PSA: Especially to all the boys and girls who were students at Cornerstone Academy for Social Action because your principal may not have taught you.”
Bowman was previously a school principal, which makes it even more incredible that he isn’t particularly well-versed in operating standard fire alarms.
Bowman was confronted by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who called his actions “outrageous.”
Among other prominent voices calling on Bowman to face the consequences of his actions is former President Donald Trump, who on Sunday called for Bowman to be jailed.
“Congressman Jamal (sic) Bowman will be prosecuted and imprisoned for very dangerously pulling and disabling the main fire alarm system to stop a congressional vote that was underway in DC,” Trump posted in Truth Social a day after the incident.
“His egregious act was captured on tape, an appalling display of courage and criminality. It was a very dangerous ‘obstruction of an official proceeding’, the same as that against our J-6 prisoners.
‘Actually, his act may have been worse. HE MUST SUFFER THEIR SAME FATE. WHEN DOES HIS TRIAL BEGIN???’