Talk about a well-deserved promotion.
Eugene Goodman, a Capitol police officer, escorted the nation’s very first female vice president (and first VP of color) Kamala Harris at the 2021 presidential inauguration.
Just two weeks before the Jan. 20 festivities, Goodman heroically led rioters away from the Senate chamber after the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. was breached by a swarm of Donald Trump supporters protesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.
And now, Goodman has been named the acting deputy sergeant at arms.
“There is a new acting deputy and guess who what acting deputy is?” CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell said during the network’s coverage of the event. “It is none other than Eugene Goodman. The officer who helped save the lives perhaps of not only the Vice President Mike Pence but others. He is going to be on the presidential platform.”
Goodman, a Black army veteran, was hailed by many to be a national hero following the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
On Jan. 6, Goodman’s efforts to protect lawmakers were captured by Igor Bobic, a politics reporter at HuffPost who posted a series of videos on Twitter. In the footage, Goodman is seen confronting a large group of insurrectionists while standing alone with just a baton for protection in the doorway.
“Here’s the scary moment when protesters initially got into the building from the first floor and made their way outside Senate chamber,” Bobic wrote on Twitter at the time.
Reposting Bobic’s footage, CNN reporter Kristin Wilson continued, “In front of the officer, coming up the stairs, is a mass of rioters. The USCP officer glances to his left. Between those two chairs is the entrance to the senate floor. He lured them to his right, away from their targets.”
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After the video of his heroic efforts to protect lawmakers went viral, many called for Goodman to receive a congressional gold medal and over 80,000 people signed a Change.org petition for the Maryland officer to receive the Medal of Freedom.
