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Rep. Bowman Backtracks on Memo Calling Republicans Nazis

By Michael Katz | Monday, 02 October 2023 08:03 PM EDT

The hole keeps getting deeper for Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y.

First, the member of the "Squad" of House Democrats was caught pulling a fire alarm Saturday on Capitol Hill as Democrats were trying to delay a House vote on a continuing resolution to fund the federal government.

On Monday, he was forced to backtrack on language in a memo distributed by his office offering talking points to Democrats to defend him that referred to Republicans as Nazis.

The memo, titled "Messaging Guidance: Supporting Congressman Jamaal Bowman After Accidental Fire Alarm" lists nine talking points to Democrat staffers that include, "I believe Congressman Bowman when he says this was an accident. Republicans need to instead focus their energy on the Nazi members of their party before anything else."

Other talking points included:

"It is an extreme reach on the part of MAGA Republicans to assert that Rep. Bowman intended to harm or destruct anyone or thing. The exact opposite is true: He was trying to do his job."
"It's clear my colleague Congressman Bowman was simply rushing to the floor to cast his vote to prevent a shutdown and support working class families."
"There are multiple insurrectionist supporters in Congress and more who supported a coup and support Trump's Big Lie. That's what they should be focused on. Instead, their focus on Rep. Bowman is an attempt to minimize January 6th."

"I just became aware that in our messaging guidance, there was inappropriate use of the term Nazi without my consent," Bowman posted Monday on X. "I condemn the use of the term Nazi out of its precise definition. It is important to specify the term Nazi to refer to members of the Nazi party & neo-Nazis."

But this was not the first time Bowman has been linked with using "Nazi" to describe something. Reacting to a speech by conservative commentator Michael Knowles on transgenderism at the Conservative Political Action Conference in March, Bowman referred to Knowles as a Nazi.

"Michael Knowles is a Nazi hellbent on keeping only white men alive and in power," Bowman posted on X on March 7. "We cannot allow him and others to push their evil agenda and we must stand up for the transgender rights. CPAC has made one thing clear this year – they support a future run by Nazis like Knowles."

Newsmax reached out to Bowman's office for comment.

Bowman is facing a House investigation, with some Republicans calling for him to be censured or expelled, although expulsion is unlikely to happen.

Falsely pulling a fire alarm could constitute illegal obstruction of congressional proceedings, a felony under federal law 18 U.S.C. § 1505 and is punishable by no more than five years in prison. The law calls for eight years if the offense involves domestic or international terrorism, which would not apply in Bowman's case.