That man is Officer Eugene Goodman. The footage of Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol shows him leading the crowd of Trump supporters in the opposite direction from the Senate chambers after he realized he was unprotected.
CNN Producer Kristin Wilson
Goodman identified through United States Capitol Police sources. The agency did not publicly identify Goodman to CNN or other media.
Wednesday footage captured by Huffington Post reporter Igor Bobic shows Goodman, the only officer among the crowd, trying to beat protesters several times while he talks to other policemen, but they continue to follow Goodman up the stairs.
At one point, Goodman comes to a landing and looks down a corridor to his left. A door in that corridor led to the Senate chambers, Wilson wrote in a tweet. Goodman then leads the protesters to the right, away from the Senate chambers – and their “targets”, Wilson said.
Goodman takes them to a larger hall, and support officers arrive – even fewer than the rioters. Bobic stopped recording and was evacuated shortly after, he said.
Bobic said Goodman led the protesters away from the Senate Chambers at 2:14 pm. Senators were warned that protesters had breached the Capitol building just a minute earlier, according to CNN’s timeline on the events of Wednesday’s rebellion. Vice President Mike Pence would not be evacuated from the Senate before 2:30 pm
The hooded man seen chasing Goodman up the stairs, Doug Jensen, was arrested over the weekend for breaking into the Capitol and faces five federal charges – of illegally entering the Capitol, interrupting government business, violent entry, parading in a Capitol building and block law enforcement during the riot.
Political figures asked Goodman to receive the
Congressional Medal of Honor or the
Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor to protect members of Congress.
CNN has contacted the US Capitol Police to comment on Goodman’s actions and is waiting for a response.
