Jamaal Bowman will plead guilty to falsely pulling fire alarm and pay a fine

Progressive Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York will face a misdemeanor charge for falsely pulling a fire alarm at the Cannon House Office Building during budget negotiations at the end of September.

Bowman was widely criticized and ridiculed for the incident after he claimed that he got confused on the way to voting in Congress.

On Wednesday, Capitol Police said they had referred Bowman for prosecution after concluding an investigation. He was ordered to appear at a D.C. Superior Court on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. on a misdemeanor charge of making a false fire alarm.

Bowman said in a statement to Axios that he will plead guilty to the charge and agree to pay a $1,000 fine.

"I am responsible for activating a fire alarm, I will be paying the fine issued, and look forward to these charges being ultimately dropped," Bowman said.

The D.C. General Attorney's Office confirmed the plea deal to Axios.

Bowman initially explained his actions to reporters after the incident.

"I thought the alarm would open the door," he said.

A spokesperson for his office later elaborated on the reasoning.

"Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote. The Congressman regrets any confusion," the statement read.

There were three posted signs proclaiming the door an emergency exit, according to the affidavit.

Bowman could have faced up to six months in prison for the charge.

Some Republicans have demanded that Bowman be expelled from Congress while others said he must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Bowman's office sent out talking points comparing his detractors to Nazis, but he later claimed that his staff sent out the statement without his approval.

Here's more about the fire alarm incident:

Jamaal Bowman addresses fire alarm incident after pulling alarm | LiveNOW from FOXwww.youtube.com

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