New Capitol riot footage shows cop Eugene Goodman protect Pence, Romney

Security footage broadcast for the first time Wednesday at former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial shows how close Capitol rioters got to officials on Jan. 6 — with a sole police officer holding them at bay long enough to allow then-Vice President Mike Pence to evacuate.

US Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman is shown in the new footage warning a wandering Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) to turn around and take shelter as rioters smashed windows one floor below.

Video of the initial break-in from the exterior point of view previously was shown by news organizations, but the new footage shows an initial trickle of protesters break and jump through windows before opening locked doors for compatriots.

Goodman is seen in the security footage stalling the horde one floor beneath the Senate. Ultimately he retreated upstairs, leading the rioters away from the Senate chamber, where Pence still was in the process of being rushed by Secret Service through a rear stairwell.

Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett, a Democratic impeachment manager, narrated the footage.

“As Pence was being evacuated, rioters started to spread throughout the Capitol. Those inside helped other rioters break in through doors in several locations around this entire building. And the mob was looking for Vice President Pence because of his patriotism because the vice president had refused to do what the president demanded and overturn the election results,” Plaskett said.

Footage previously published by The Post showed Goodman leading the group away from the reportedly unlocked chamber door.

The new footage also shows aides for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rushing to take shelter in a conference room with an interior door. Minutes later, Trump supporters rushed into the hallway they’d just crossed, massing right outside the door. One Trump supporter throws their body against the door multiple times.

According to a chronology offered by Plaskett: At 2:12 pm, Pence was initially evacuated off the Senate floor; at 2:13 pm, Officer Goodman passed Romney one floor above the break-in, telling him to turn around; at 2:14 pm, Goodman confronted the first wave of rioters at the base of a set of stairs one floor beneath the Senate chamber; at 2:15 pm, Goodman led initial rioters away from an unsecured door to the Senate chamber; at 2:26 pm, Pence and his family members were evacuated from a room behind the Senate chamber to a secure location.

Plaskett handed off the presentation to fellow impeachment manager Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) who focused on police officer injuries along battle lines. He said that his father was a cop and that his two brothers are currently.

A security camera clip showed that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “came within just yards of rioters,” Swalwell said. The video showed Schumer walk up a ramp toward the intruders, only to run quickly back down the passage after realizing he was in danger.

Combat between Trump supporters and cops was described as similar to a medieval siege by a police officer in a video interview played for senators. That officer’s body camera footage was played, showing him dragged down the west steps of the Capitol and beaten. He was tased and suffered a heart attack.

Four Trump supporters and Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died of injuries or health emergencies directly linked to the riot. Two police officers and at least one rioter died by suicide after the event.

Democratic impeachment managers sought to revive the emotions of the day for senators. One new security video showed senators and their staff sprinting away to safety through ornately painted Senate corridors as cops ran toward rioters.

“You know how close you came to the mob. Some of you, I understand, could hear them. But most of the public does not know how close these rioters came to you. As you were moving through that hallway — I paced it off — you were just 58 steps away from where the mob was amassing and where police were rushing to stop them,” Swalwell said.

Swalwell also showed senators photos of at least two activists who broke into the actual Senate with plastic handcuffs. “If the doors to this chamber had been breached just minutes earlier, imagine what they could have done with those cuffs,” he said.

Before the new footage was aired, impeachment managers argued that Trump’s pre-riot speech coupled with post-election claims of fraud provoked the violence.

Several Republican senators said they were impressed by the Democratic impeachment case, though most remained undecided on the outcome.

No. 2 Senate Republican John Thune of South Dakota called the Democratic case “very effective.”

“I’ll see what kind of arguments the defense put out,” Thune told reporters during a dinner break from the trial.

“I think they’ve done a good job connecting the dots,” said Thune, against whom Trump has encouraged a 2022 primary challenge. “The president’s Twitter feed is a matter of public record and they’ve done, like I said, an effective job of going back several months and just showing that public record.”

Still, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said that images of violence were emotive but didn’t show Trump was guilty of incitement.

“Today’s presentation was powerful and emotional, reliving a terrorist attack on our nation’s capital. But there was very little said about how specific conduct of the president satisfies the legal standard,” Cruz told reporters.

Trump was impeached by the House last month for inciting the mob, but it’s considered unlikely that enough Senate Republicans would vote to convict him. Democrats need to win over 17 Republicans for a conviction, but garnered just six GOP votes in an initial ballot Tuesday on whether the process is constitutional due to Trump having already left office.