I nearly dropped my phone when I saw the headline about a pardoned Jan 6 rioter shot by police just days after receiving clemency from Donald Trump. Imagine getting a second chance at life—only for it to unravel in an instant. That’s exactly what happened to 42-year-old Matthew Huttle, who was pulled over at a traffic stop in Indiana and never made it out alive.

A Sudden Twist of Fate

Huttle had served time on a misdemeanor charge related to the 2021 Capitol riot. According to the Washington Post, he’d been released in July 2024 after six months behind bars. Fast-forward to just last week: Trump, newly reinstalled in the White House, issued pardons to over 1,500 individuals tied to the January 6 insurrection. Huttle was one of the lucky ones—until Sunday afternoon, when a routine stop took a deadly turn.