Crown Point man and nephew indicted for breaching US Capitol on Jan. 6
A Crown Point man and his nephew are the latest to face a federal indictment for allegedly breaching the U.S. Capitol with a mob on Jan. 6, 2021.
Dale Huttle, 71, faces multiple counts including assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon, records show.
Authorities arrested him Nov. 9, according to Ryan Holmes, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Indiana. Huttle was released that day on a $20,000 unsecured bond as his court case is pending in Washington, DC.
His nephew, Matthew Huttle, 40, of Hebron was arrested Monday in Boise, Idaho, charged with multiple misdemeanors in connection to the Capitol breach, according to a news release. He is scheduled to make a court appearance in Boise later this week.
Both indictments were unsealed Monday, Holmes said. Dale Huttle was not at his job in Merrillville on Jan. 6, while cellphone records showed both men were at the U.S. Capitol at the time of the riot.
Federal prosecutors allege both men went inside the Capitol. Carrying an upside-down American flag on a pole, Dale Huttle had two “violent confrontations” with law enforcement officers on the building’s Lower West Terrace.
Around 2 p.m., as the crowd was pulling bike racks used as a barrier, Dale went to the front of the crowd and hit at least two officers with a long flagpole, Holmes said in a release. There are multiple images of the man prosecutors identified as Dale Huttle assaulting officers with the flagpole in the statement of facts which accompanied the criminal complaint.
A half-hour later, he allegedly grabbed another officer’s baton, yelling: “Surrender!”
According to Google videos that Matthew Huttle captured, the pair walked toward the Capitol around 1:14 p.m. following a rally on the Ellipse headlined by then-President Donald Trump. In the complaint, it details that a voice was
similar to that of Dale Huttle stated: “Think we ought to bum rush the Capitol building,” “Arrest them all,” and “We have enough people to do that.” Huttle also was heard saying “Let’s go, let’s go, storm the front,” “Let’s squeeze our way up there,” “Breach it!” and “Are you ready to go to jail? Let’s go,” according to court records.
Authorities allege Matthew Huttle went inside the Capitol about 2:58 p.m. next to its Senate Wing. He possibly left for about six minutes, then went back in for nearly 11 minutes, where he entered multiple offices, the Crypt area, and a number of hallways.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section is prosecuting the case with help from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana. The case was investigated by FBI bureaus in Indianapolis and Washington DC.
The FBI released photos in April 2021 hoping to receive tips on the man who turned out to be Dale Huttle, but all the tips they received were inaccurate. A search of passport photos seemed to be consistent with Dale Huttle, so in August 2021, law enforcement conducted surveillance of Dale Huttle at his home and employer. Matthew Huttle, who was then living in Hobart, was seen visiting Dale Huttle’s Crown Point home multiple times, according to court records.
The Huttles aren’t the first Northwest Indiana residents to face charges in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection.
In January 2021, Kash Lee Kelly, 34, of Hammond, was charged in the District of Columbia with two misdemeanor counts, knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful entry, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to the charging documents. Almost 900 people have been arrested in nearly every state in connection with the Jan. 6 breach, according to the release. About 275 are facing charges for impeding or assaulting police.
Anyone can leave tips at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.