Capitol officer Eugene Goodman: Jan. 6 could've "been a bloodbath"

Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman said the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. capitol could've "easily been a bloodbath" in his first interview since the insurrection.

The big picture: Goodman has received widespread praise for leading the mob away from members of Congress during the riot. Footage of the siege, released last year, showed the police officer directing Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) to safety.

• The Capitol Police officer was featured on the cover of Time magazine but has retained a low profile and declined several interview requests.

What they're saying: Speaking to the "3 Brothers No Sense" podcast in an interview published Monday, Goodman described being "confronted" by "angry and screaming" rioters.

• "They looked to be coming my way, but I wasn't sure," Goodman said of the rioters. "By the time I got upstairs, they were there."
• "It could have been easily been a bloodbath, so kudos to everybody there that showed a measure of restraint with regards to deadly force, because it could have been bad," he added. "Really, really bad."
• "Any situation like that you want to de-escalate, but you want to survive first."