New security footage of the Capitol attack Presented Wednesday by House impeachment managers showed officer Eugene Goodman He ordered Senator Mitt Romney to go to safety on January 6. Romney seemed to be heading towards the rioters when Goodman led him away.
The images were played on Wednesday during the impeachment process of former President Trump. The House impeachment managers presented the new footage in their opening arguments against Mr Trump, who was impeached by the House on charges of instigating the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The images showed how close the Utah Republican came to collide with the angry crowd, something that probably could have happened had Goodman not intervened. Goodman tried to dissuade the crowd and led them away from the Senate Chamber.
“Agent Goodman passes Senator Mitt Romney and orders him to turn to get to safety,” said House Impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett, who described the silent security footage as she played it back.
Goodman led many of the rioters away from the Senate Chamber and bought crucial time for lawmakers to get to safety. Goodman also bought time for Vice President Mike Pence and his family to escape to a safe location just moments before rioters might have seen the Vice President.
That was just one of the never-before-seen images that House impeachment managers showed on Wednesday.
Only one camera angle is allowed during the Senate process, which means viewers will not have the opportunity to see Senators’ responses. But the pool reporter in the room at the time said Romney was watching the footage carefully, as it showed Goodman could potentially save his life. Most senators were also glued to the footage, pool reporters said.
During the dinner break, Romney told reporters it was “disturbing” to see the footage. He also said he didn’t know he was that close to the crowd and he didn’t know it was Goodman who had brought him to safety.
“I look forward to thanking him when I see him again,” Romney said. “That I was very fortunate indeed that Agent Goodman was there to get me in the right direction.”
House impeachment manager Eric Swalwell reminded senators that they were only “58 steps away” from where the crowd gathered when they were evacuated from the room at 2:30 PM. The crowd reached the Senate gallery at 2:45 PM.
Grace Segers of CBS News contributed to this report.