House Ethics Committee takes no action against Bowman over voting rights protest arrest

The House Ethics Committee announced on Monday that it will not take action against Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) after he was arrested last month during a voting rights demonstration near the Capitol.

The Ethics Committee typically does not launch investigations or take punitive action against lawmakers who are arrested for civil disobedience. But whenever a lawmaker is charged with illegal conduct, House rules require that the panel must still either begin a probe or disclose publicly why it won’t.

Bowman informed the Ethics Committee that he intends to pay a $200 fine related to his arrest, according to a report released by the panel.

“The legal proceedings related to his arrest are expected to be resolved with no further action,” the report stated.

The Ethics Committee said it therefore “determined that review by an investigative subcommittee is not required in this matter.”

Bowman was among more than two dozen people, including other voting rights advocates, who were arrested on Jan. 20 during a protest a day after Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) joined Republicans in voting against exempting voting rights legislation from the Senate’s rules requiring 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

“I had no choice but to join people and activists outside the Senate this week who are also tired and frustrated with our government,” Bowman said in a statement after his arrest.

Bowman is among multiple members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) who have been arrested in the past year for civil disobedience while participating in demonstrations for voting rights legislation.

Those other lawmakers include CBC Chairwoman Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Al Green (D-Texas) and Hank Johnson (D-Ga.). The Ethics Committee similarly did not take punitive action against those lawmakers following their arrests.