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Shocking New Capitol Security Footage Shows How Close Rioters Came To Lawmakers

The video, released by the impeachment managers, provides a new perspective on the violence that unfolded at the Capitol on January 6.

Democrats shared US Capitol security video from the Jan. 6 insurrection showing rioters entering the capitol and police officer Eugene Goodman directing Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) away from the protesters.

The footage, part of their presentation during day two of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate, was made public for the first time Wednesday. It offered another perspective of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, which resulted in five deaths, including that of a police officer, that day. Two more police officers died by suicide in the days after the riot.

As seen in the never-before-seen security footage, filmed from inside the Capitol, rioters pounded and beat the windows until they broke open.

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Dozens of rioters can be seen pouring into the hallways, in apparent search for the Senate chamber. Some of the first people who broke into the Capitol wore tactical gear, and one was holding a baseball bat.

One rioter could be seen in a QAnon shirt, while another was holding a Confederate flag.

A lone officer responds to the scene and attempts to pepper spray the first person to enter the building, though he is quickly overwhelmed by the incoming rush of rioters.

He quickly turns around as more people climb through the broken windows and into the halls of the Capitol.

In separate security footage filmed from another angle, Officer Eugene Goodman can be seen running to the mob of people and provoking them in an attempt to redirect Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) away from the rioters.

Another angle of security footage shows Vice President Mike Pence being evacuated from the Senate chamber, fleeing the mob who was searching for him.

During a call with reporters Wednesday morning, senior aides on the impeachment managers’ team called the footage “quite extraordinary.”

“It will provide new insight into both the extreme violence that everyone suffered, the risk and the threat that could have led to further violence and death,” one aide said. “It shows really the extent of what Donald Trump unleashed on our Capitol.”

Democrats also aired audio recordings of Capitol police calling for help on the radio as rioters attacked them, some apparently using poles.

“We have a group of about 50 charging up the hill on the west front,” an officer can be heard saying on the radio recording. “They’re throwing poles at us.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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