Officer hailed as hero testifies at Capitol riot trial
WASHINGTON — A police officer lauded for his bravery during the U.S. Capitol riot testified Monday that a man carrying a Confederate battle flag jabbed at him with the flagpole before joining the mob that chased him up a staircase.
In his first public testimony since the Jan. 6, 2021, siege, Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman described his encounter with the flagtoting Delaware man, Kevin Seefried, and his adult son, Hunter, at their trial on charges that they stormed the Capitol together.
Officer Goodman has been hailed as a hero for leading a group of rioters away from the Senate chamber as senators and thenVice President Mike Pence were being evacuated. Officer Goodman also directed Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, to turn around and head away from the mob.
Officer Goodman recalled seeing Kevin Seefried standing alone in an archway and telling him to leave. Instead, Mr. Seefried cursed at him and jabbed at the officer with the base end of the flagpole three or four times without making contact with him, Officer Goodman said.
“He was very angry. Screaming. Talking loudly,” Officer Goodman said. “Complete opposite of pleasant.”
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden is hearing testimony without a jury for the Seefrieds’ bench trial, which started Monday and is scheduled to resume Tuesday. The Seefrieds waived their right to a jury trial, which means Judge McFadden will decide their cases.
Widely published photographs showed Kevin Seefried carrying a Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol after he and his son entered the building through a broken window.
The charges against both the Seefrieds include a felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding, the joint session of Congress for certifying Joe Biden’s victory over then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
During the trial’s opening statements, defense attorneys said the Seefrieds never intended to interfere with the vote count.
One of Kevin Seefried’s lawyers, Elizabeth Mullin, told the judge her client “was not even aware that the electoral count was happening.”
Before his encounter with the mob inside the Capitol, Officer Goodman joined other officers in trying to hold back rioters as they clashed with police outside the building.
“It was like something out of medieval times, with one huge force clashing with another opposing force,” Officer Goodman said. “I’ve never seen anything like that ever.”
Officer Goodman said he had to retreat inside the building after getting pepper sprayed.
The Seefrieds aren’t charged with assaulting any officers.
Ms. Mullin conceded that Kevin Seefried is guilty of misdemeanor charges that he knowingly entered a restricted building and illegally demonstrated in the Capitol.
Hunter Seefried, then 22, may have acted “stupidly” but didn’t intend to block Congress from certifying the election results, defense attorney Edson Bostic said.
Officer Goodman recalled that Hunter Seefried was smirking but didn’t see him acting aggressively or hear him yelling at police.
“He was just disobeying commands,” Officer Goodman said.
The Seefrieds traveled to Washington from their Laurel, Del., home to hear Mr. Trump’s speech at the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6.
They climbed over a wall near a stairwell in the northwest section of the Capitol and were among the first rioters to approach the building near the Senate Wing Door, according to prosecutors. After watching other rioters use a police shield and a wooden plank to break a window, Hunter Seefried used a gloved fist to clear glass in one of the broken windowpanes.
In a court filing, prosecutors said the Confederate battle flag that Kevin Seefried brought from home was “a symbol of violent opposition to the United States government.”
Ms. Mullin said Seefried didn’t intend “to send any kind of message” by carrying the flag into the Capitol and regrets doing so.