Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman to throw first pitch at Nationals game

U.S. Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman is set to throw the ceremonial first pitch at Friday's Washington Nationals game against the New York Mets.

Goodman, an Army veteran, was praised for his quick thinking after a viral video showed him luring rioters to chase him up a staircase and away from the Senate floor. Security footage unveiled during the impeachment trial for former President Trump revealed that moments earlier, Goodman had also helped divert Senator Mitt Romney away from a near run-in with the angry crowd. Goodman, who was later promoted to acting deputy Senate sergeant-at-arms and was chosen to escort Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2021 inauguration, was deemed a reluctant hero and has continually declined interviews with the press. But in the aftermath of the riot, Goodman became an unwitting focal point of a months-long political battle over how to recognize officers who defended the Capitol that day.