Officer Eugene Goodman is once again being lauded for his courageous efforts to face down a violent pro-Trump mob who stormed the U.S. Capitol last month.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said on Wednesday that he had briefly stepped away during Trump’s impeachment trial to express his appreciation to Officer Eugene Goodman for directing him to safety after learning through new video evidence shown during the trial’s second day, that it was Goodman who had come to his rescue as he headed south from the Senate Chamber on Jan. 6.
“I expressed my appreciation to him for coming to my aid and getting me back into the path of safety and expressed my appreciation for all that he did that day,” Romney told reporters.
The news comes after impeachment managers on Wednesday released previously-unseen Capitol security footage as evidence in their case against President Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.
One surveillance clip shows an unwitting Romney being led away from a mob of pro-Trump rioters by a man in uniform. The officer can be seen running past the senator and urging him to head in the opposite direction for safety as the pro-Trump mob stormed the building.
Until Wednesday, Romney had not known that the man who directed him to safety was Goodman — the courageous Capitol police officer lauded as a hero last month after viral video emerging from the riot showed him coaxing the mob away from the Senate chamber.
“I was very fortunate indeed that Officer Goodman was there to get me in the right direction,” Romney said.
On Inauguration Day, the decorated military veteran escorted Vice President Kamala Harris and was also named the new acting deputy Senate sergeant-at-arms.
According to The Hill, Romney said that Goodman had related to him the officer’s own experience during the riot that included details of Goodman becoming nauseated from inhaling chemical irritants as well as his exhaustion from racing around the building.
“It was obviously very troubling to see the great violence that our Capitol Police and others were subjected to,” Romney said according to the Washington Post. “It tears at your heart and brings tears to your eyes. That was overwhelmingly distressing and emotional.”
