Newly released bodycam footage captures the harrowing final moments of Matthew Huttle, a January 6 defendant who received a controversial pardon from former President Donald Trump—only to be gunned down in a dramatic traffic stop just days later.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department unveiled the footage late Thursday, revealing a tense encounter that escalated in seconds. Huttle, who had been convicted alongside his uncle for their role in the Capitol riot, was stopped on January 26 in Indiana. But when the deputy informed him that he was under arrest for a felony offense, Huttle panicked.
“I can’t go to jail for this,” Huttle pleaded, as the officer calmly explained that his suspended license left no room for negotiation. Moments later, the situation took a tragic turn.
As the deputy attempted to take him into custody, Huttle suddenly bolted for his car. The deputy’s voice filled with urgency: “No! Don’t you do it, buddy! No, no, no, no!”
A struggle erupted inside the vehicle. In the chilling final seconds before gunfire rang out, Huttle uttered his last words: “I’m shooting myself!” Shots fired. Huttle was fatally struck.
According to an official report, the prosecutor’s office ruled the shooting legally justified, stating that Huttle posed “an imminent threat to the deputy’s safety.”
Trump’s sweeping pardons for January 6 rioters—some of whom had assaulted police officers—sparked bipartisan outrage. Huttle, a direct beneficiary of that decision, met his fate just days after being granted freedom.
The shocking footage reignites debate over Trump’s clemency decisions and the turbulent lives of those involved in the Capitol attack. The case is now closed, but the questions it raises are far from answered.
