(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, the man who led rioters up the stairs and away from the Senate chamber on Jan. 6, 2021, broke his yearlong silence Monday when he appeared on the podcast “3 Brothers No Sense.”
“It could have easily been a blood bath,” Goodman says on the show. “So kudos to everyone there that showed a measure of restraint in regards to deadly force, because it could have been bad.”
Goodman’s heroics were caught on camera in what became a viral video that came to light during President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate, which revealed Goodman also guided Sen. Mitt Romney back to the Senate chamber, helping him narrowly avoid contact with the rioters.
The officer’s description of the day is one in which he kicked into “go mode” and relied heavily on previous military training to guide him. He said his decision to move up the stairs with the protestors wasn’t entirely by choice because he thought “they would have followed me anyway.”
“Any situation like that you want to de-escalate, but at the same time you wanna survive first,” Goodman says.
He also discusses his newfound fame and explains that he has chosen to stay out of the spotlight to protect his family’s privacy.
“I keep asking myself that question every day like who the hell am I?” Goodman says. “I’m the guy everybody keeps saying saved the Senate… I don’t need no statue, though, that’s one more thing for a bird to prop up and take a dump on.”
Up until Monday, Goodman has avoided media appearances. The podcast interview was conducted by the three hosts, one of whom, Officer Byron Evans, serves as a member of the U.S. Capitol Police.
Earlier this month, “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir sat down with three Capitol Police officers who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year.
ABC News’ Rachel Scott and Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.
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