It’s been over two years since the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust, and Alec Baldwin’s legal troubles regarding the event continues. On Friday, it was announced that the actor and producer will go to trial in a new indictment where he is being charged with involuntary manslaughter after his prop gun fired a live round of ammunition on the set of Rust.
The new indictment comes from a grand jury in New Mexico after a previous indictment about Hutchins' death was dismissed back in April. Per a report from NBC News, Baldwin could face up to 18 months in prison if he is convicted on his charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Alec Baldwin’s lawyers responded to the new developments by sharing that they “look forward to our day in court.” It was previously reported that the case was going to be presented once again to a grand jury. At that time, Baldwin’s legal team called it a “misguided prosecution” before saying that they would “answer any charges in court.”
This all started, of course, in October 2021 when Baldwin was filming a Western called Rust (of which he’s also an executive producer) when the on-set incident led to Hutchins' death, along with director Joel Souza being injured. These charges are led by a new prosecution team led by Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis, who made the decision to present their case to a grand jury, leading therein to this latest indictment.
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In early 2023, both Baldwin and Rust’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were officially charged with involuntary manslaughter. The criminal charges were dropped three months later and Alec Baldwin then returned to set (in a new filming location in Montana) to finish making Rust. The movie wrapped filming one month later in May, and Baldwin shaved the beard he amassed for the Rust role.
In November, previously-unseen video footage from the Rust set was released and shed light on Baldwin working on gun scenes just days before Halyna Hutchins died after the incident on set. Alec Baldwin was seen firing blanks while rehearsing a scene with a prop gun before expressing concern to the cinematographer about where she was positioned relative to him.
Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed have pleaded not guilty in the past about the incident. Baldwin, in particular, has said in interviews that he didn’t pull the trigger and the gun was declared “cold” (without live ammunition) before he handled it on that day. Gutierrez-Reed’s own trial is set to begin on February 21. Baldwin’s trial date, on the other hand, has yet to be set. We’ll keep you updated here on CinemaBlend as we learn more about the upcoming Rust trials.
