The House Ethics Committee voted Monday against taking further action on the arrest of Rep. Jamaal Bowman for an unauthorized entry during a protest last month outside the U.S. Capitol.
“Bowman was released following his arrest. Representative Bowman informed the Committee he intends to pay a $200 fine related to his arrest. The legal proceedings related to his arrest are expected to be resolved with no further action. The Committee voted against impaneling an investigative subcommittee in this matter,” Reps. Ted Deutch of Florida and Jackie Walorski of Indiana said in a statement.
“The Committee has determined to take no further action in this matter, and upon publication of this Report, considers the matter closed,” added the two lawmakers, respectively the top Democrat and top Republican on the evenly divided, six-member ethics panel.
Mr. Bowman, New York Democrat, was among 28 people who were arrested Jan. 20 during a protest for a Democratic voting bill after the legislation to overhaul elections died in the Senate.
According to his spokesman, he joined a “voting rights non-violent direct action” located at the North Barricade of the Capitol building and was arrested by the U.S. Capitol Police.
“These are protesters who have been on a hunger strike for several weeks — multiple hunger strikes — demonstrating in their communities, trying to push to get voting rights passed,” Mr. Bowman told the Riverdale Press the night of his arrest.
“So they came down here to apply that same pressure. I wanted to be out there with them today, as well. But by the time I got there, about 20 of them had already been arrested for, I guess, being in an area they weren’t supposed to be,” he told the weekly Bronx newspaper.
Mr. Bowman wanted to talk to the protesters who were cordoned behind police tape in an area that lawmakers were not allowed to enter.
“I went underneath the police tape to go to shake their hands and thank them for being there,” Mr. Bowman said. “Then the cop came over and told me I was under arrest. He grabbed my arm, made me put my hand behind my back, and started to put the handcuffs on.”
Mr. Bowman, who was released after his arrest, joined a list of several Democratic lawmakers who have been arrested during protests including Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, Joyce Beatty of Ohio and Hank Johnson of Georgia.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Reps. Jackson Lee, Beatty and Johnson were arrested at the Jan. 20 protest outside the U.S. capitol.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.