The actor Alec Baldwin has been attempting to dispel claims that he was responsible for the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of "Rust," a low-budget Western he was shooting outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico, for more than a year.
He spoke with detectives and assured them the gun he was practicing with that day did not have live ammunition, gave a lengthy television interview, requested protection from financial responsibility in the case, and then sued the cast and crew of the movie, alleging they were to blame for giving him a loaded gun.
However, on Thursday, prosecutors said that they will prosecute him with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the death of the cinematographer, 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins, claiming that they felt it was his responsibility to make sure the revolver was secure.
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In an interview, Andrea Reeb, a special prosecutor chosen by the district attorney of Santa Fe County to assist with the case, said, "We're trying to certainly make it obvious that everybody's equal under the law, including A-list actors like Alec Baldwin." Additionally, we want to ensure that the film industry's safety is handled that incidents like this don't occur again.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film's armorer, who loaded the gun that day and was in control of the set's firearms, will also be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Dave Halls, the first assistant director of the movie, admitted guilt in exchange for a plea bargain on the charge of careless use of a firearm against Mr. Baldwin.
Many people in the film business were surprised by the criminal allegations Mr. Baldwin is now facing, and his legal team has vigorously contested them. The judgment by the prosecution "distorts Halyna Hutchins's tragic death and represents a horrific miscarriage of justice," according to Mr. Baldwin's attorney Luke Nikas.
Mr. Nikas said in a statement on Thursday that "Mr. Baldwin had no reason to assume there was a live bullet in the gun—or anywhere on the movie set." He trusted the experts with whom he collaborated since they promised him the rifle was empty of live ammunition. These accusations will be fought, and we will prevail.
The 64-year-old Mr. Baldwin has long been recognized as a household figure due to his roles as a Hollywood leading man, Jack Donaghy on "30 Rock," Donald J. Trump on "Saturday Night Live," a co-host of the Oscars, and the voice of the New York Philharmonic on radio broadcasts.
Additionally, he has long attracted attention for his off-screen actions, which have included altercations with paparazzi, being pulled over for riding his bicycle the wrong way on Fifth Avenue, being pulled over in 2018 for a parking space disagreement, and social media fights.
The current predicament, though, is unlike any he has ever encountered.
Since the incident, Mr. Baldwin has attempted to maintain his innocence in public while attempting to avoid legal trouble in order to protect his image and profession.
He made an appearance on national television and claimed that when he pointed the gun at the cinematographer, it was only because he had been told that the gun didn't contain any live ammunition on that particular day. In the interview, he stated, "Someone is accountable for what happened, and I can't tell who that is, but I know it's not me."
He had privately complained to a detective working on the case that fall that "once your name becomes associated with something, nobody wants to deal with you anymore — nobody," according to a police report.
A jury would decide between the two manslaughter accusations if it found either Mr. Baldwin or Ms. Gutierrez-Reed guilty. The more severe charge involves a mandatory five-year sentence and a firearm enhancement; the lesser charge brings a penalty of up to 18 months.
Criminal charges brought against Mr. Baldwin are certain to raise new concerns about set safety and accountability. Mary Carmack-Altwies, the district attorney for Santa Fe County, stated in an interview that Mr. Baldwin had a responsibility to see to it that the weapon and ammo were thoroughly inspected and that he should never have pointed it at anyone. In an interview, she remarked, "You shouldn't point a pistol at someone you're not willing to shoot." "That violates fundamental safety principles."
After the shooting, Ms. Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer in charge of the weaponry on set and the person who loaded Mr. Baldwin's rifle that day, admitted to the authorities that she had checked the weapon and each of the six cartridges she had loaded, but she also said, "I wish I would've checked it more."
Jason Bowles, one of her attorneys, said that his client was not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and labeled the investigation into the case as "flawed."
Some seasoned armorers questioned if the prosecutors' justification for the criminal accusations against Mr. Baldwin was a fair portrayal of the film business once the charging decision was made. The industry's standard safety bulletin, according to armorer Larry Zanoff, who has worked on films like "Django Unchained," does not state that it is the actors' responsibility to make sure a pistol is secure to hold.
Mr. Zanoff stated that "the armorer and the prop master are responsible."
On October 21, 2021, a shooting that also injured the movie's director Joel Souza took occurred on a modest set designed to resemble a church.
According to court documents, the first assistant director of the movie, Mr. Halls, 63, handed the handgun to Mr. Baldwin while yelling, "cold gun," to indicate that it did not contain live ammo. He had retrieved it from a gray, two-tiered tray Ms. Gutierrez-Reed had placed outside the church. He consented to a plea agreement and acknowledged that there was enough evidence to find him guilty of careless use of a deadly weapon.
"He can now put this matter behind him and allow the focus of this tragedy to be on the shooting victims, their families, and improving the industry so this type of event will never happen again," said Mr. Halls' attorney, Lisa Torraco, in a statement.
The prosecution claimed they had spoken with various actors who emphasized the significance of such rules and had come to the conclusion that it was part of film industry norms for actors to verify that the guns they used on set were safe for them to handle. Mr. Baldwin has previously disputed that notion, asserting that in his experience working on movie sets, actors weren't expected to check their own firearms.
Ms. Gutierrez-Reed was also in charge of making sure that the guns on the set did not fire live rounds, according to Ms. Reeb, the special prosecutor and a Republican member of the New Mexico legislature. Ms. Reeb stated in an interview that Ms. Gutierrez-Reed should have taken each round out of the gun and shaken it in front of the actor to confirm the rounds are dummies, inert cartridges used to replicate real ammunition in movies.
Following the shooting, the police discovered five more live rounds on the set, including one in a belt that Mr. Baldwin was wearing as part of his costume and another one on top of the cart that held the props. A crucial aspect of the case remained unsolved by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office investigation: how live ammunition got onto a set for a movie.
The special prosecutor, Ms. Reeb, claimed that part of the case was still up in the air. We might never have an answer to that, she remarked.
Several lawsuits stemming from the incident have been filed, including ones from staff members who claim the production did not follow safety procedures to the letter.
During their interviews with the sheriff's office, some cast members complained about the absence of regular meetings for on-set safety. Lane Luper, the head of the camera department, claimed that the filming of gunfight scenes was played "very fast and loose," citing two accidental weapons discharges, in an email to other people on set informing them of his departure. The majority of the camera crew had quit the night before the shooting over complaints about overnight lodging and other issues.
Ms. Gutierrez-Reed, 25, trained as an armorer on film sets with her father, Thell Reed, a seasoned Hollywood armorer, according to a lawyer for her. On the "Rust" set, she also served as a props assistant, which made it challenging for her to concentrate entirely on her armoring duties.
Mr. Baldwin has steadfastly defended his innocence in the incident, claiming that Ms. Hutchins had been giving him instructions on where to aim the weapon and that he had not pulled the trigger before it went off. He admitted to the investigators that he may have set off the explosion by pulling the hammer back and letting it fly.
In a phone call to Detective Alexandria Hancock after the shooting, Mr. Baldwin said, "I know 1,000 percent I'm not responsible for what happened to her."
The F.B.I. analysis of the gun, according to Ms. Carmack-Altwies, a Democrat who was elected in 2020, "conclusively" proved that the trigger had been pulled.
The defendants who would be charged this month, according to the prosecutors, would not be detained; instead, they would be required to appear virtually in court. The charges are then the subject of a preliminary hearing, which will be presided over by a New Mexico judge who will decide if there is sufficient evidence to proceed.
In a complaint against him and his business, Ms. Gutierrez-Reed claims that Seth Kenney, the main provider of firearms and ammunition for the movie, is equally to blame for the massacre. She claims that the supply he sent to the scene contained both real and fake bullets.
Ms. Gutierrez-Reed was in charge of handling the weapons and ammunition on set, according to Mr. Kenney, who said that he examined every round of ammunition he gave to the production to make sure it wasn't live.
The widower of Ms. Hutchins, Matthew Hutchins, settled his wrongful death claim against the "Rust" production last year. According to the deal, Mr. Hutchins would take on the role of executive producer for "Rust," which was slated to pick up production this month. How the anticipated charges might change such plans was not immediately clear.
Brian J. Panish, an attorney representing Mr. Hutchins, stated in a statement that he supported the decision to file charges.
No one is above the law in New Mexico, which is a consolation to the family, said Mr. Panish. "We truly hope the legal system works to safeguard the public and bring those who break the law accountable," the statement reads. "We support the charges, will completely cooperate with this case."
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