Goodman saves Mitt Romney Capitol Riot

WASHINGTON – New dramatic footage shown at Donald Trump’s impeachment trial shows Capitol Policeman Eugene Goodman frantically warning Senator Mitt Romney to get coverage shortly before facing a crowd of protesters.

Goodman has already become a heroic figure for taking on the people who have just invaded the Capitol, removing them from the Senate Chamber.

Unseen security footage shown by Democrats at the impeachment trial on Wednesday shows Goodman running through the halls just before the confrontation when he passed Romney out of the Senate chamber. There is no audio in the security footage, but Goodman can be seen waving his arms at Romney, directing him to seek shelter. Romney, who was walking quickly, runs in the opposite direction and leaves the scene. Romney told reporters he didn’t realize at the time that Goodman was the one who warned him and that he hadn’t seen the video before the Democrats showed it on Wednesday.

At the time, the rioters had already broken the windows and invaded the building one floor below. Goodman then ran down the stairs to face the crowd. At a great numerical disadvantage, Goodman retreated constantly, leading the crowd away from the Senate chamber and into a corridor where other Capitol officers could finally block the marchers from advancing.

Stacey Plaskett, the House’s impeachment manager, revealed that, at the time, then Vice President Mike Pence was taking shelter in a nearby room outside the Senate chamber. Plaskett reproduced never-before-seen security footage of Pence being evacuated from the Capitol, with a map of how close he was to Goodman and the protesters at the time.

“When the rioters reached the top of the stairs, they were 30 meters from where the vice president was taking shelter with his family,” she said.

Other senators were inside the Senate chamber itself, with the crowd of protesters directly outside. Plaskett’s video showed Pence, his family and his team evacuating the second floor, down a flight of stairs. At the time, protesters faced the Capitol Police on the other side of the Senate chamber.

“The crowd was looking for Vice President Pence because of his patriotism, because the Vice President refused to do what the President demanded and to cancel the election results,” said Plaskett. “Extremists allegedly coordinated online and discussed how they could hunt down the vice president. Journalists on Capitol reported that they heard protesters say they were looking for Pence to execute him. ”

Plaskett then showed a photo of a gallows brought to the Capitol lawn by rioters, then a video of people invading the Capitol shouting “hang Mike Pence”.

The impeachment manager, Rep. Eric Swalwell, showed images of senators hastily evacuating the Senate chamber shortly afterwards, some of them running. They then moved down a corridor near where Goodman had recently removed the protesters, according to Swalwell. He emphasized that the public did not know how far the senators and Pence reached protesters on January 6.

“As you moved down the hall – I started walking – you were only 58 steps from where the crowd was gathering and where the police were running to stop them,” he said.

Swalwell then showed footage of the now Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, who almost missed, coming within a few feet of a group of protesters. Schumer is seen climbing a ramp in the Senate basement with his security detachment. Moments later, Schumer and his guards run back in the opposite direction, and the police close and lock the door behind them.

Democrats also showed new footage of the initial violation of the Capitol on the Senate side of the building, where, Plaskett noted, several members of the Proud Boys (an extreme right-wing group that Trump said to “stand back and wait” during a September Debate ) were the first to enter. “The second man who passed through the window is wearing full tactical armor and carrying a baseball bat,” she said.

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