Democrat Jamaal Bowman denies pulling fire alarm to delay House vote

Alarm prompted building evacuation and triggered outcry from Republicans, who vow to prosecute him

The New York Democratic congressman Jamaal Bowman denied that he pulled a fire alarm in a Capitol office building to delay a vote on the stopgap measure that ultimately stopped a government shutdown.

In a statement on Saturday evening, the New Yorker said he mistakenly thought the alarm, which prompted the Cannon House office building to be evacuated, would open a door.