Indiana man pardoned by Trump for Jan. 6 riot is shot and killed by deputy during arrest
- Police say Matthew Huttle resisted arrest and fought with a Jasper County deputy in Indiana before he was fatally shot.
- Huttle was previously sentenced to six months in prison for his role in the Capitol riot.
- This incident follows the arrest of another pardoned Jan. 6 rioter on a federal gun charge.
An Indiana man recently pardoned by President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop.
Just after 4 p.m. on Sunday, a Jasper County sheriff’s deputy pulled over 42-year-old Matthew Huttle of Hobart, Indiana State Police said in news release.
While they were trying to arrest Huttle, police say, he resisted and began struggling with the deputy.
"An altercation took place between the suspect and the officer, which resulted in the officer firing his weapon and fatally wounding the suspect," police said.
Police added that Huttle "was in possession of a firearm" during the traffic stop but did not say whether he wielded the weapon or where exactly it was found.
“For full transparency, I requested the Indiana State Police to investigate this officer-involved shooting,” Jasper County Sheriff Patrick Williamson said in a statement. “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.”
State Police did not provide additional details about why the sheriff's deputy tried to arrest Huttle and did not immediately respond to Paste BN's request for further information about that and the gun they say he had.
Huttle and his uncle were part of Jan. 6
Huttle was arrested in November 2022 after investigators said he was identified on video inside the Capitol going into “multiple” offices, the Crypt area and hallways during the riot.
He was sentenced in November 2023 to six months in prison and a year of supervised release after pleading guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building, a lesser charge than issued to his uncle, Dale Huttle, with whom he traveled that day.
Dale Huttle and his nephew were each sentenced to prison for their involvement in the riot, during which the elder Huttle struck police officers with a flagpole.
“I’m not ashamed of being there. It was our duty as patriots,” he said in a news media interview afterward, according to the Justice Department. "I put myself on the line to defend the country. And I have, I have no regrets. I will not say I’m sorry.”
One other Capitol riot defendant has run into trouble
Last week, another man connected to the Jan. 6 riot was arrested after Trump had pardoned him.
Daniel Ball, of Florida, was arrested on a pending federal gun charge out of Florida connected to earlier convictions of domestic violence battery by strangulation and resisting law enforcement with violence, reported The Hill and The New York Times.
His attorney, Amy Collins, told Paste BN on Monday that Ball was never released after his pardon and was immediately held on the Florida warrant, which she said "stems directly from the D.C. January 6 prosecution."
"It is our position that the Middle District of Florida case should be dismissed with prejudice pursuant to President Trump’s January 20th proclamation as to January 6 defendants," she said.
Ball and Huttle were among more than 1,500 people pardoned by Trump stemming from the Capitol attack.
"These are the hostages, approximately 1,500 for a pardon. Full pardon," Trump said in the Oval Office on the first day of his second term as president. "This is a big one. We hope they come out tonight.”
Contributing: Noe Padilla, Sarah Nelson and Bart Jansen
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for Paste BN. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.