Eugene Goodman, the US Capitol Police officer who took the hooligans out of the Senate chamber during the January 6 attack, redirected Senator Mitt Romney away from the crowd minutes earlier, showed a newly released security video played at the trial of Donald Trump’s impeachment.
“I was really lucky that Officer Goodman was there to put me in the right direction,” Romney, R-Utah, told reporters on Wednesday after the video demonstrated how close he came to the pro-Trump crowd that invaded the Capitol.
Deputy Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, one of the House managers who sued Trump at his Senate trial, showed the new video from the security camera, which had no sound. It featured Goodman running to face the crowd – but first struggling to guide Romney to safety.
Goodman had already been hailed as a hero after a video of him luring protesters away from the Senate chamber after they invaded the Capitol appeared.
Introducing the new video, Plaskett, who is a non-voting delegate to Congress, said there was “more to his heroic history”.
“In this security footage, you can see Officer Goodman running to respond to the initial violation,” she said.
The video shows Goodman running down the Ohio Clock Corridor outside the Senate chamber towards Romney, waving him to turn and take a different path. Romney then turns and runs back to the Senate chamber.
Romney was on camera on Wednesday while Plaskett played the video and watched it carefully.
He later told reporters that he did not know the identity of his guardian angel.
“I didn’t know it was Officer Goodman. I’m looking forward to thanking him the next time I see him,” said Romney.
This ended up hours later, when the two were caught talking after the trial ended that day.
“I expressed my gratitude to him for coming to my aid and putting me back on the path to safety and I expressed my gratitude for everything he did that day,” Romney told reporters.
Asked earlier in the day whether he realized how close he was to the crowd, he said, “No, I didn’t.”
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Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, said the managers’ presentation was disturbing.
“It was obviously very worrying to see the great violence that our Capitol Police and others were subjected to. It tears your heart and brings tears to your eyes. This was extremely distressing and emotional, ”he said.
After the video was played, Romney’s son Matt tweeted to thank Goodman for his “bravery and service”.
Five people died as a result of the disturbances, including a police officer.
A group of bipartisan members of the House introduced legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Goodman after an earlier video of his heroism went viral on social media.
Goodman, an Army veteran who served in Iraq before joining the Capitol Police, accompanied Vice President Kamala Harris at the inauguration.
