Vice President Kamala Harris had a special guest with her as she walked into the inauguration on Wednesday morning.
Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, who was seen on video battling against a horde of Trump supporters attacking the Capitol Building, escorted Harris into the inauguration, a hat tip to his heroic actions on Jan. 6.
What a wild two weeks for our country but especially for people like Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman.
On Jan 6, he put his life on the line when he lured insurrectionists away from Senators and staff.
Two weeks later, he’s escorting VPE Kamala Harris into the US Capitol pic.twitter.com/zBKzQeJ3lR
— Yashar Ali ???? (@yashar) January 20, 2021
Goodman was seen walking Harris into the inauguration around 10:30 a.m. alongside her husband, Doug Emhoff, and incoming First Lady Jill Biden.
According to CBS News, Harris asked to have Goodman stand with her on the platform as she and President-elect Joe Biden are sworn in. CBS News also noted that Goodman has been promoted to acting deputy House sergeant at arms.
Eugene Goodman, the Capitol Police officer who led rioters away from the Senate chamber, will escort Kamala Harris at the inauguration as the new acting deputy House Sergeant at Armspic.twitter.com/pcRralajkq
— Norah O'Donnell ???????? (@NorahODonnell) January 20, 2021
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has nominated Goodman for a Congressional Gold Medal thanks to his bravery on Jan. 6. He purposefully used himself as bait to lure the angry and heavily-armed pro-Trump mob away from the Senate floor and toward a larger group of police officers.
The insurgents came within just a few feet of the doors of the Senate, where all of the country's senators were hiding. The FBI and Justice Department have now confirmed that the Trump supporters intended to take members of Congress hostage, and in a court filing, federal officials said some planned to kill members of Congress, according to Reuters.
"Last Wednesday, I was inside the Senate chamber when Officer Eugene Goodman led an angry mob away from it at great personal risk. His quick thinking and decisive action that day likely saved lives, and we owe him a debt of gratitude," Sen. Bob Casey said in a statement on Twitter.
Vice President Mike Pence had just been removed from the Senate chambers with his family. Thanks to Goodman, the mob never saw him. Some of the insurrectionists were specifically looking for Pence, even having erected a noose, which videos from the day that showed them chanting "hang Mike Pence" suggested would be used as such.
“If not for the quick, decisive, and heroic actions from Officer Goodman, the tragedy of last week’s insurrection could have multiplied in magnitude to levels never before seen in American history," Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II said in a statement.
