U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) said on Wednesday that U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) “should be expelled” from Congress after he was charged with pulling a fire alarm in the Capitol building last month as Republicans deliberated on a spending measure to keep the government open.

Bowman received a misdemeanor charge on Wednesday in connection with the incident. The charge carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail. He will be arraigned on Thursday morning.

According to Axios congressional reporter Andrew Solender, Capitol Police concluded their investigation and sent evidence to prosecutors. 

A spokesperson for Bowman told Solender that the attorney general agreed to withdraw his charges in three months in exchange for a public apology and a $1,000 fine.

After Bowden pulled the fire alarm in September, former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called the incident “an embarrassment” and suggested the congressman should be punished.

Palmer quoted Solender’s tweet of Bowman’s confession on Wednesday afternoon, stating, “He should be expelled.” 

According to reports, Bowman claimed he pulled the fire alarm accidentally while in a rush and trying to exit through two doors on Capitol Hill.

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