A police officer is being hailed as a hero for diverting a pro-Trump mob away from the Senate chamber during Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol building.
CNN reporter Kristin Wilson identified Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman, who was spotted in video from Wednesday confronting a crowd of rioters after they first stormed the building.
In footage from the attack, Goodman put himself between a man in a QAnon t-shirt and a hallway leading to the Senate chamber on the second floor. He shoves the man to lure the crowd of rioters in the opposite direction toward other officers.
People are praising Goodman for saving the lives of politicians and staffers who were likely still evacuating at the same time that he was distracting the mob.
"Officer Eugene Goodman stood between a mob of rioters and the unguarded United States Senate," Pennsylvania Senator Sharif Street tweeted. "His judgement and quick thinking led them in the opposite direction, saving the lives of Senators and quite literally an institution of democracy itself."
According to the Washington Post, Goodman's actions gave police time to lock the doors to the Senate chamber.
“As Trump’s fascist mob ransacked the US Capitol, this brave USCP officer kept murderous rioters away from the Senate chamber and saved the lives of those inside. God bless him for his courage,” U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell tweeted.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund is resigning in wake of the deadly riot. Sund will leave his post on Jan. 16.
