Laura Coates is a CNN senior legal analyst. She is a former assistant US attorney for the District of Columbia and trial attorney in the civil rights division of the Department of Justice. She is the host of the daily "Laura Coates Show" on SiriusXM. Follow her @thelauracoates. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion on CNN.
(CNN) On Friday, senators recognized Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman's courage and gave him a standing ovation for risking his own life to save theirs on January 6.
A day later, when it came time for the senators themselves to show courage, however, they folded and acquitted former President Donald Trump in a 57-43 vote — 57 members voted "guilty," but the tally fell 10 votes short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.
Trump stoked his followers to storm the Capitol January 6 and then twiddled his thumbs as he watched the seat of our representative democracy under siege. He dragged his feet as men and women inside the Capitol sprang to theirs in fear. Many lawmakers were left to fend for themselves against a mob that made clear it intended to show them no mercy.
But mercy they did receive in the form of valiant police officers like Goodman. When he saw that the door to the Senate chamber had not yet been secured, he knew everyone inside was in danger. Did he ignore the foreseeable violence and save himself? No. He lured the insurrectionists away from the chamber at the risk of his own personal safety. As a public servant, he made a choice not to save his own hide.
RU3LF on February 15th, 2021 at 05:29 UTC »
It was only forty three of them.
peter-doubt on February 15th, 2021 at 03:11 UTC »
I'd like to know what the Capitol Police would do if this ever happens again.
Jump_Yossarian on February 15th, 2021 at 03:08 UTC »
Rand Paul couldn't even be bother to applaud Officer Goodman.