Footage reveals moment police officer dragged into the MAGA mob as another leads them away
Shocking new footage shows a police officer being yanked out of the building and beaten with a flagpole bearing the American flag, as it emerged that another officer’s quick-thinking inside the building may have saved Senators’ lives.
The footage, circulating online, shows the moment the first officer was hauled out of a door on Wednesday afternoon, and set upon by the frenzied mob of Donald Trump’s supporters.
Fears were mounting on Sunday night that another violent insurrection was being planned for January 17 – Trump’s last weekend in office – after analysts found plots being discussed online.
In the clip the officer, believed to be from the DC Metropolitan Police, was flung face first onto the steps and set upon by rioters, who beat him while he was lying defenseless.
One used a black baton on him. Another man is seen giving the middle finger to officers still inside the building, desperately trying to keep the mob back.
The unnamed officer is dragged from the building, as rioters look down to him at their feet
Eugene Goodman is seen running away from the mob, leading them from the Senate
Brian Sicknick, 42, died in the chaos
The officer dragged from the Capitol has not been identified, but is believed to be a member of the DC Metropolitan Police, not the Capitol Police.
DailyMail.com has asked both Capitol Police and DC Metropolitan Police for comment, but the forces are yet to respond.
One Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick, died Thursday night from injuries suffered during the riot. Sicknick, 42, was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher during a struggle, two law enforcement officials told Associated Press.
A second member of the Capitol Police, Howard Liebengood, was on duty on Wednesday and died by suicide on Saturday.
Four rioters also died – one woman shot by Capitol Police, and three during medical emergencies. One of those was apparently trampled in the melee.
A baying mob was outside the Capitol on Wednesday as some managed to burst inside
Rioters scaled the walls and dragged one officer outside, beating him with flags and flagpoles
Teargas was eventually deployed to push the rioters back from the Capitol
At around the same time as the police officer was being dragged from the Capitol and set upon, Trump was recording a video in which he said he ‘loved’ the rioters.
The video was later removed by Twitter, and Trump has since been banned from social media due to his incendiary comments.
Amid the carnage, an incredible story of bravery emerged.
Eugene Goodman was filmed by a reporter alone, trying to fend off the ferocious crowd as they stormed the building.
Armed apparently only with a baton, he is charged by the mob, with Doug Jensen, 41, of Des Moines, Iowa, leading the charge in a QAnon hoodie. Jensen w
as arrested on Saturday.
Goodman appears to have noticed that the rioters came right up to the entrance of an open door leading straight to the Senate.
At that moment, 2:15pm, according to a detailed analysis by The Washington Post, the Senate doors were unlocked as security tried frantically to protect the Senators inside.
Goodman is seen glancing to his left, and seeing the door is unlocked.
He then shoves the advancing Jensen and runs away, provoking Jensen to follow him.
An enraged Jensen runs after him and away from the unlocked Senate door, with the mob following.
At 2:16pm the Senate chamber door was locked.
Doug Jensen was arrested on Saturday, having led the mob against Eugene Goodman
Jensen, a QAnon fanatic, was inspired by the conspiracy theory to carry out the violent attack
Goodman was widely praised on social media, with mounting calls for him to be awarded the Medal of Valor or Medal of Honor.
‘Thank you, Officer Eugene Goodman,’ tweeted Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King.
Benjamin Crump, the crusading civil rights lawyer known for representing the families of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and others, heaped praise on the officer.
‘Eugene Goodman deserves the Medal of Valor!’ he said.
‘He could have stepped aside and let Trump insurgents get to the Senate chamber while Senators were still there. Instead, this heroic officer got them to follow him the other direction, giving lawmakers time to escape!’
And Jaime Harrison, former candidate for the Senate representing South Carolina, said he may have single-handedly ‘saved our Republic’.
‘The word hero does not appropriately describe officer Eugene Goodman,’ he said.
‘His judgment & heroism may have saved our Republic.
‘I hope consider him for the Congressional Medal of Honor. It is the least we can do.’
And serious questions were being asked as to how the Capitol Police and the DC Metropolitan forces were so ill prepared for the onslaught.
A new analysis of social media posts by Alethea Group, an organization combating disinformation that draws its name from the Greek word for ‘truth,’ found abundant evidence of threatening plans on a range of platforms, with some scheduled for Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, and others for Trump’s last weekend in office – January 17.
‘REFUSE TO BE SILENCED,’ said one online post cited by Alethea Group, calling for an ‘ARMED MARCH ON CAPITOL HILL & ALL STATE CAPITOLS’ for January 17, the last Sunday of Trump’s presidency.
Another post called for action at ‘DC & All State Capitols’ and was signed by ‘common folk who are tired of being tread upon’ declares: ‘We were warned!’
