Many in Washington said that the Capitol Hill riot that occurred on January 6, 2021 was a threat to democracy and many participants are serving long sentences for it.
But when a member of Congress directly threatens democracy – interrupting a crucial House vote by pulling a fire alarm – those same people don’t seem to think it was a big deal. In other words, Jamaal Bowman, you’re off the hook.
No Investigation
Nearly a month ago, Rep. Bowman pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge for pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building.
The Democrat appeared to try to stop a House vote to pass a stopgap measure to fund the government before an imminent shutdown deadline.
At the time, Bowman agreed to a plea deal in which he would write an apology to the Capitol Police and pay a $1,000 fine.
And that appears to be it for him.
As The Hill reported recently:
The House Ethics Committee said it will not establish a subcommittee to investigate Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who was charged for pulling a fire alarm in the Capitol ahead of a House vote.
Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and ranking member Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) shared the news in a Wednesday statement.
The panel has 30 days after a House member is charged with a crime to decide whether to launch an investigative subcommittee (ISC) and issue a report to the House on the matter.
“Pursuant to Committee Rule 10(a), establishment of an ISC and a report to the House regarding the conduct of a Member both require an affirmative vote of a majority of the Members of the Committee,” the committee said in its news release.
“A majority of the Members of the Committee did not agree to establish an ISC or report to the House regarding Representative Bowman’s conduct.”
Must be nice.
Some ‘Threats to Democracy’ Are Apparently Greater Than Others
The so-called ‘QAnon Shaman’ Jacob Chansley was found guilty of one felony account of obstructing an official proceeding and was sentenced to 41 months in jail, of which he served 27. That’s two years and three months.
That’s quite the fine for what basically amounts to trespassing.
In all, 277 January 6 protesters were put behind bars with the average sentence being about 60 days for supposedly threatening American democracy. None of them had remotely the same power as a member of Congress.
But when Rep. Bowman seemingly directly interrupts a democratic vote by democratically-elected representatives from each state in Congress’s most democratic chamber – the People’s House – he… gets a mere slap on the wrist?
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Bowman’s colleagues simply look the other way? They’re just going to pretend it never happened?
That’s it?
Yep.
Again, must be nice.
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