RENSSELAER, Ind. (AP) — A sheriff’s deputy in northwestern Indiana will not face charges in the fatal shooting during a traffic stop of a man who days earlier had been pardoned by President Donald Trump for a misdemeanor related to the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot.
The Jasper County deputy was “legally justified in using deadly force to defend himself” in the Jan. 26 killing of Matthew Huttle, the Clinton County prosecutor’s office said in a release.
The deputy had stopped Huttle, 42, of Hobart for driving 70 mph (112.6 kph) in a 55 mph (88.5 kph) zone. When informed that he was under arrest for being a habitual traffic violator, Huttle ran back to the driver’s seat of his vehicle and “reached in a manner consistent with retrieving a weapon,” prosecutors said Thursday.
Huttle and the deputy then struggled. The deputy fired multiple shots after seeing Huttle raise a firearm while stating “I’m shooting myself,” according to prosecutors.
Investigators found a loaded 9mm handgun and additional ammunition inside Huttle’s vehicle. Police dash camera video also confirmed Huttle raised “an object” while inside the vehicle.
The Associated Press left a message Friday seeking comment from an attorney who was representing Huttle in pending motor vehicle cases in Lake County.
In 2023, Huttle was sentenced to six months in custody after pleading guilty to entering a restricted building, the U.S. Capitol. He had traveled with his uncle to Washington to attend the Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rally. Huttle was inside the Capitol for 16 minutes and recorded it on video.
“He is not a true believer in any political cause,” defense attorney Andrew Hemmer said in a court filing related to the U.S. Capitol charges. “He instead went to the rally because he thought it would be a historic moment, and he had nothing better to do after getting out of jail” for a driving offense.
