A deputy sheriff shot and killed an Indiana man during a traffic check on Jan. 26 after he was just pardoned for his involvement in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. According to a news release from the authorities, a Jasper County sheriff’s officer stopped Matthew Huttle at 4:15 p.m. It said that Huttle had a gun on him and had resisted arrest.
“An altercation took place between the suspect and the officer, which resulted in the officer firing his weapon and fatally wounding the suspect,” the press release stated.
Sheriff Patrick Williamson asked the Indiana State Police to conduct an investigation into the incident. The deputy was put on paid administrative leave, which is department procedure.
“Our condolences go out to the family of the deceased as any loss of life is traumatic to those that were close to Mr. Huttle,” Williamson said in a statement. “I will release the officer’s name once I have approval from the State Police Detectives.”
Huttle was identified by the Jasper County coroner, who completed an autopsy on Jan. 27. Huttle was one of many people identified as having taken part in the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in which hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters broke into the building in an attempt to stop the counting of electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election.
Huttle pleaded guilty to a charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds in August 2023, according to court records. He was sentenced in November 2023 to six months in federal prison and a year of supervised release. However, that was moot this month when Trump pardoned about 1,500 participants in the Jan. 6 riot last week following his inauguration.
The complaint claims that Huttle was with his uncle at the Capitol on that particular day, and investigators were able to see videos of him at the insurrection that were posted to his personal Google account. In one of his videos, he was heard stating that he was “going to see if we can get inside” as a group of individuals were heading to the Capitol.
According to the allegation, he was recognized on security footage taken inside the structure, including the Capitol’s crypt.
