US prosecutors to drop charges against Alec Baldwin in Rust death

Attorneys for Baldwin say New Mexico prosecutors have dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge in a fatal incident.

Lawyers for actor Alec Baldwin have said prosecutors in the southwestern US state of New Mexico plan to drop criminal charges against their client following a fatal 2021 shooting on the set of the movie Rust.

“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Baldwin’s lawyers Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in a statement Thursday.

Prosecutors from New Mexico’s 1st Judicial District did not immediately comment.

Baldwin, 65, had previously been charged with involuntary manslaughter, a felony, in the planned death of cameraman Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021.

The actor-producer was filming a Western movie on a ranch south of Santa Fe when the prop firearm he was carrying went off, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

In January, New Mexico prosecutors filed suit against Baldwin, alleging that he had failed to appear for mandatory firearms training before filming and that he had failed to follow safety standards on set.

“Baldwin’s failure to ensure minimum standards were met is considered reckless in the industry,” the prosecutors wrote in a likely statement. “This reckless deviation from known standards and practices and protocols was the direct cause of the fatal shooting.”

They added that Baldwin had engaged in “negligent” conduct by pointing a real firearm at Souza and Hutchins and placing his finger on the trigger.

Baldwin pleaded not guilty to the charges and has maintained he believed the gun had discharged.

He also initially said he had not pulled the trigger, but a subsequent investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found that the gun was “functioning normally” and would not have fired otherwise.

In February, however, prosecutors agreed to drop charges against Baldwin after his legal team argued that it would be illegal to charge him under a firearms improvement law passed after the shooting.

That firearms improvement law would have set the minimum sentence for a conviction at five years. Removing the increase reduced the maximum sentence to 18 months.

The Public Prosecution Service has also had to deal with two high-profile departures in recent months.

Special Counsel Andrea Reeb was forced to resign in March after Baldwin’s lawyers argued her nomination was unconstitutional, as she had also recently been elected to the state legislature.

Shortly thereafter, Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies also withdrew from the case, appointing two new special prosecutors instead.

Baldwin had previously settled with the Hutchins family, who called the shooting a “terrible accident”.

As part of the settlement, her widower, Matthew Hutchins, was named executive producer on the film, which resumed Thursday on the set of Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana.

Rust’s weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was also charged with manslaughter for her alleged role in the fatal shooting and also pleaded not guilty.

Jason Bowles, an attorney for Gutierrez-Reed, released a statement saying he was aware of Thursday’s developments, but charges against his client had not been dropped. However, he added that he expected his client to be found innocent.

Deputy Director and Safety Coordinator Dave Halls pleaded not guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon earlier this year. He was sentenced on March 31 to six months’ probation, a $500 fine and community service.