OFFICER HAILED AS HERO FOR LEADING AWAY CAPITOL MOB.
`Hero' led mob away from Senate chamber
While a core belief of conspiracy theorists is that the masses are “sheeple” — dim-witted followers of the herd — one scene from the siege of the U.S. Capitol last week shows a Qanon protester distracted and led away from the Senate chamber by a quick-thinking policeman, with the angry mob following right along behind.
The officer, identified as U.S. Capitol Police's Eugene Goodman, is being hailed a hero for his wits and tactics, apparently making a crucial intervention steps away from a door into the U. S. Senate chamber where Joe Biden was being certified as the next U.S. president.
The accolades come amid criticism that Capitol Police were woefully unprepared to prevent an invasion by protesters and rioters who ransacked the Capitol building Wednesday.
The scene could have easily got lost in the clatter of chaos in Washington, D.C., that day. At first glance at a video clip widely circulating on social media and broadcast media, it looks like an officer high tailing away from the mob to safety.
On closer inspection, however, it seems there was strategy and street smarts in what happened.
Goodman dangles himself as a carrot, a black man in authority confronting a largely white crowd, some carrying the Confederate flag, to lure the mob away from lawmakers and towards a band of officers on another floor.
As a mob breached the Capitol on the first floor, at the head of the pack was a man in a T-shirt supporting Qanon, a compendium of bizarre conspiracy theories that slavishly support U. S President Donald Trump as the antidote to a supposed cabal of predators.
“Trust The Plan,” his shirt says, along with an eagle, American flag and a giant letter Q.
It seems Goodman, though, was the man with a plan.
At key moments, he distracts the attention of the Qanon man — using a push here, a shout there — making sure the protesters are focused on the officer as he slowly cedes ground.
He was not just retreating. He was drawing the mob away.
One video shot inside the Capitol by Igor Bobic, a Washington-based politics reporter at Huffpost, shows Goodman face-to-face with protesters, as he moves up the stairs.
As he nears the top of the first flight, Goodman calls into his radio: “Second floor.” He then stops and turns to look back. In front of him, coming up the stairs, is a mob.
The hand of the first rioter reaching the second floor can be seen emerging from the stairwell as Goodman quickly looks to his left. According to U. S. reporters, that's where an entrance to the Senate floor is, which is presumably the desired destination of the mob. That was where lawmakers were debating the election certification protesters wanted to prevent.
After a brief movement toward the entrance to the Senate, Goodman quickly changes strategy. Still the only security in sight, he shouts for the crowd to backup, then gives Qanon man at the head of the mob a little push that gets his attention, and strides off to the right.
The protester, for a flash, seems to wonder what is happening. He also looks to the left towards the Senate entrance, but then continues to pursue Goodman.
According to Bobic, on Twitter, he took the video at 2:14 p.m. According to the Washington Post, the Senate doors weren't sealed until 2:15 p.m.
Goodman then faced another decision. In the top corner of the video, a man in a suit is seen scurrying up the stairs away from the mob, possibly one of the U.S. representatives.
Goodman seems to notice him. He continues to face the mob, encouraging them to come after him as he keeps walking backwards away from the stairs, drawing the mob with him, around a corner and into a foyer, where Goodman meets his backup. At least five officers join him.
“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,” said New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr., in a tweet. “God bless him for his courage.”
“I was inside the Senate chamber when Officer Eugene Goodman led an angry mob away from it at great personal risk,” said Bob Casey, Pennsylvania's senior senator, in a tweet. “His quick thinking and decisive action that day likely saved lives, and we owe him a debt of gratitude.”
Many on social media have called for Goodman to receive a medal.
A request to Capitol Police to speak with Goodman were not returned prior to deadline.