‘Overwhelmingly distressing’: Mitt Romney reveals he had no idea how close he was to getting found by mob until seeing trial video

New video shows Goodman taking Romney to a safe place, minutes before his encounter with the mob

A newly released security video played in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial shows senator Mitt Romney being led away by a police officer inside the Capitol building, minutes before rioters reached the spot.

In the video, Eugene Goodman, the police officer who was hailed as a hero for driving the violent mob away from Senate chambers, is also seen potentially saving the Utah senator's life as he takes him away to safety, minutes before the violent mob arrived in the area. 

"I was very fortunate indeed that officer Goodman was there to get me in the right direction," Mr Romney told reporters on Wednesday after the video revealed how close he came to the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol.

Officer Goodman, who is now acting deputy Senate sergeant-at-arms, was lauded earlier as well for his heroic act of deflecting the crowd, after a video emerged where he was seen in an intense face-off with the mob on 6 January. 

The viral video showed him being chased upstairs by a crowd of dozens of Trump supporters as he attempted to move to a different area, taking them away from the senators. 

"He was exhausted going from one part of the building to the other, up and downstairs,” says Mr Romney, detailing what happened on the day of riots. 

“He indicated that he had to breathe a lot of bear spray and tear gas and that he was nauseated. And so, he was talking to me about the whole day, and I just again told him how much I appreciated him, making sure that I was out of harm's way," he says. 

The new video on Wednesday was shown by the House impeachment managers for the first time, and it showed officer Goodman running as the mob entered the Capitol. He stopped when he came across Mr Romney and redirected him to another area, before moving to the first floor where he confronted the rioters. 

The video of the officer played alongside the footage of the rioters as they breached the security of the Capitol. 

"It was obviously very troubling to see the great violence that our Capitol police and others were subjected to. It tears at your heart and brings tears to your eyes. That was overwhelmingly distressing and emotional," Mr Romney said.

Several senators have shared the horror they faced on 6 January, as they waited in hiding for the riots to get over. The police in the Capitol were heavily outnumbered, till additional forces were deployed hours later. 

After the video was played in the Senate, Mr Romney’s son Matt Romney tweeted to thank officer Goodman for his “bravery and service.”

Some lawmakers have introduced a legislation to recognise the efforts of officer Goodman,  an army veteran who served in Iraq before he joined the Capitol police, with a Congressional Gold Medal for saving lives.