A petition to grant a Capitol Police officer the Medal of Honor for his bravery in protecting Senate members during last week's deadly riot has now exceeded 10,000 signatures.
Pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building in order to obstruct the counting of the electoral college votes and thereby Biden's status as the impending President of the United States.
Following the breach of the building, footage emerged of Eugene Goodman, a Capitol Police officer, singlehandedly steering the mob away from the unocked Senate Chambers.
This is the moment Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman is being praised for:The Change.org petition reads:
"On Wednesday, January 6th, 2021, USPC Officer Eugene Goodman faced down a mob of angry rioters advancing in the US Capital building. Despite his warnings, rioters advanced on the outnumbered officer.
"He retreated to the 2nd floor landing and called in his position to fellow officers to alert them to the growing threat. Officer Goodman noted that there were no visible guards at the Senate chamber doors.
"At the moment that the lead rioter also saw the open door, Officer Goodman placed himself in the path to direct harm and made physical contact with the rioter, provoking a response. The rioter took the bait and lead his followers after Officer Goodman, away from the Senate doors."
The petition goes on to explain that if the rioters had breached the doors, they would have found themselves face-to-face with Senate leaders, potentially provoking further violence.
It continues:
"Instead, the rioters pursued Officer Goodman down another hall and into a larger vestibule where Capital police backup was waiting to reinforce him. The incident was defused without injury and Senate leaders were able to safely evacuate.
"Officer Eugene Goodman recognized a critical moment where the lives of others were at stake. He courageously risked himself to divert rioters and exemplifies the courage an bravery that is the hallmark of Capital law enforcement. In a very difficult time, his character shone through."
Goodman is then referred to as an "American hero", with the individual who started the petition calling on leaders in the House and Senate to recognize "his courage and his long career of defending the United Stated by awarding him the highest military honor, the Medal of Honor!"
Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips has since tweeted in response to the footage.
"With gratitude and reverence, I salute the particular heroism of black U.S. Capitol Police officers like Officer Eugene Goodman who stared grotesque hatred directly in the eye on Wednesday and demonstrated to the world that their Black Lives Matter," he wrote.
The petition has amassed 10,844 signatures at the time of writing and the video showcasing Goodman's bravery has been viewed over 10 million times.
The man seen chasing goodman in the video is believed to be Iowa resident Doug Jensen, who has since been arrested by authorities.
