Alec Baldwin charged again with involuntary manslaughter in fatal Rust shooting

A New Mexico grand jury has indicted Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge stemming from the fatal 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film Rust, reviving a criminal case against the actor and producer.

Baldwin, 65, was indicted Friday after special prosecutors Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis brought the case before a Santa Fe grand jury earlier in the week, according to the Associated Press. EW has reached out to Morrissey and Lewis for comment, as well as Baldwin's legal team.

Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, Baldwin's defense attorneys, told the AP, "We look forward to our day in court."

Baldwin was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023 and pleaded not guilty. Morrissey and Lewis dropped the charges three months later, saying that "new facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis." But they added that their decision "does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled."

Then in October, Morrissey and Lewis announced that "additional facts have come to light that we believe show Mr. Baldwin has criminal culpability in the death of Halyna Hutchins and the shooting of [Rust director] Joel Souza." Explaining that they planned to present the case to a grand jury, they said, "We believe the appropriate course of action is to permit a panel of New Mexico citizens to determine from here whether Mr. Baldwin should be held over for criminal trial."

Hutchins was killed and Souza was wounded on the Rust set on Oct. 21, 2021, when a gun being held by Baldwin discharged. Baldwin had been told the gun was "cold," meaning it did not contain live ammunition, and he has maintained that he did not pull the trigger.

Prosecutors reopened the case after an analysis conducted by forensic gun expert Lucien C. Haag concluded that the prop gun's trigger "had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver," according to the New York Times. However, the outlet noted that, as part of his analysis, Haag had to rebuild several parts of the weapon that were broken by the FBI prior to his findings.

In addition to Baldwin, the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, also pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges and evidence tampering. Her trial is set to begin next month.

Last May, Baldwin commemorated wrapping production on Rust in an Instagram post. The Western film, which is set in 1880s Kansas, also stars Jensen Ackles, Travis Kimmel, and Devon Werkheiser.

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