Following a fatal shooting during a traffic stop, a sheriff’s deputy in northwestern Indiana has been cleared of charges. The incident involved a man, Matthew Huttle, who had recently received a pardon from then-President Donald Trump for a misdemeanor related to the 2021 US Capitol riot. The Jasper County deputy was deemed to have acted within his legal rights in using deadly force to protect himself during the encounter with Huttle on January 26, as confirmed by the Clinton County prosecutor’s office.
The tragic event unfolded when the deputy pulled over Huttle, a 42-year-old resident of Hobart, for driving 70 mph in a 55 mph zone. Upon notifying Huttle of his arrest for being a habitual traffic violator, Huttle made a sudden move towards the driver’s seat of his vehicle, appearing to reach for a weapon, according to prosecutors. A struggle then erupted between Huttle and the deputy, culminating in the deputy firing multiple shots after witnessing Huttle brandish a firearm while uttering, “I’m shooting myself.”
A subsequent search of Huttle’s vehicle uncovered a loaded 9mm handgun along with additional ammunition. Dash camera footage from the police corroborated the deputy’s account, showing Huttle raising an object while inside the vehicle. Efforts to obtain a statement from Huttle’s legal representative in pending motor vehicle cases in Lake County were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
In 2023, Huttle received a six-month sentence after pleading guilty to unlawfully entering a restricted area at the US Capitol during the events of January 6, 2021. Accompanied by his uncle, Huttle had attended the pro-Trump rally in Washington, DC, recording a brief video inside the Capitol that lasted 16 minutes. In a court document related to the Capitol incident, defense attorney Andrew Hemmer emphasized that Huttle’s actions were not driven by a strong political conviction but rather stemmed from a desire to witness a historic event, as he had no other plans following his release from jail for a prior driving offense.
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