Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) broke House ethics rules when he pulled a fire alarm as the lower chamber was rushing a vote to avoid a partial government shutdown last month, according to a conservative group.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics on Thursday, saying that the far-left Bronx and Westchester congressman failed to conduct himself “in a manner that reflects creditably on the House,” according to a copy of the file obtained by The Post.
Photos have circulated showing Bowman pulling the alarm with the word “FIRE” clearly written on its face Sept. 30, with signs posted nearby that read “Emergency Exit Only!” and “Push until alarm sounds (3 seconds). Door will unlock in 30 seconds.”
After the alarm forced an evacuation of the Cannon House Office Building, Bowman, 47, said in a statement: “I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door.”
“He simply cannot credibly claim he doesn’t know the difference between a fire alarm and an automatic door button, and it’s clear he did not pull the alarm for a legitimate reason,” FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold wrote in a letter to Office of Congressional Ethics chief counsel Omar Ashmawy.
“There is no question that he intentionally set off the fire alarm, regardless of whether his motive for doing so was to delay a vote or to use a door that was not permitted,” Arnold also wrote.
A spokeswoman for Bowman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Facing cries for expulsion from some GOP lawmakers, Bowman’s office later circulated a memo of talking points that accused Republicans of being “Nazis” for harping on his actions.
The memo ignited further backlash, forcing the New York pol to issue another statement in which he said the talking points were circulated “without my consent.”
“I condemn the use of the term Nazi out of its precise definition,” he posted on X. “It is important to specify the term Nazi to refer to members of the Nazi party & neo-Nazis.”
His actions have triggered an investigation by US Capitol Police and another probe by the House Administration Committee.
A spokesperson for Capitol Police did not respond to a request for comment.
FACT also highlighted in its complaint Bowman’s “continued and intentional abuse of official resources for political purposes” by “regularly” using content from his congressional social media for his campaign account.
“Clearly these posts appear to come from a government account with government resources—they are not, this is Bowman’s campaign account,” the complaint reads, sharing screenshots of the account reposting some of the congressman’s speeches from the House floor.
“[T]he use of his official title portrays government approval of political content and, along with the use of official House video on this campaign account, confuses viewers as to whether it is a political or official account.”
Bowman has also changed his campaign X profile name to “Rep. Jamaal Bowman Ed.D,” according to the complaint.
House ethics rules bar members from taking pictures or videos of House floor or committee proceedings for campaign or political purposes, even if they are just reposted from third-party sources like social media or news outlets.
Lawmakers’ campaign social media accounts “may not share, like, retweet, etc., a post from an official social media account,” according to the House Ethics Manual.
FACT previously flagged to the Office of Congressional Ethics that Bowman had violated the same rule when posting on his TikTok, The Post reported in April.
“Rep. Bowman’s continued abuse of official resources shows a complete disregard for federal law and House Ethics Rules, and it is frustrating for the American public to see this go on without repercussion,” Arnold told The Post in a statement.
“In light of our previous complaint, there is simply no credible claim that he doesn’t know the rules that govern social media usage, which shows he’s intentionally not following them.”
The conservative nonprofit was formerly run from 2014 to 2017 by Matthew Whitaker, who went on to serve as acting attorney general under former President Donald Trump.
The group aims to be “a conservative counterweight to watchdog groups viewed as more left-of-center, such as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington,” according to the money-in-politics tracker OpenSecrets.org.