A grand jury in the US city of Santa Fe has indicted Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge over a 2021 fatal shooting during a rehearsal on the set of the film Rust in New Mexico, reviving a dormant case against the A-list actor.
Key points:
- The A-list actor has again been charged with manslaughter, after having the same charge dismissed in April 2023
- Special prosecutors brought the new case following fresh analysis of the gun used on set during filming of Rust
- Baldwin was holding the gun during the incident, which killed the movie's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
Special prosecutors brought the case before the grand jury this week, months after receiving a new analysis of the gun that was used.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey previously said she would file new charges against Baldwin if the independent test showed the reproduction long Colt .45 revolver was in "working condition".
Baldwin's lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said they would fight the charge, and issued a statement saying, "We look forward to our day in court."
While the proceeding is shrouded in secrecy, two of the witnesses seen at the courthouse included crew members — one who was present when the fatal shot was fired and another who had walked off the set the day before due to safety concerns.
Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on Rust, was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun went off, killing Ms Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer, but not the trigger, and the gun fired.
Judges recently agreed to put on hold several civil lawsuits seeking compensation from Baldwin and the producers of Rust after prosecutors said they would present charges to a grand jury. Plaintiffs in those suits include members of the film crew.
Special prosecutors dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. They later pivoted and began weighing whether to refile a charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun.
The analysis from experts in ballistics and forensic testing relied on replacement parts to reassemble the gun fired by Baldwin, after parts of the pistol were broken during testing by the FBI. The report examined the gun and markings it left on a spent cartridge to conclude that the trigger had to have been pulled or depressed.
The analysis stated that although Baldwin repeatedly denied pulling the trigger, "given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver".
The weapons supervisor on the movie set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the case. Her trial is scheduled to begin in February.
Rust assistant director and safety coordinator David Halls pleaded no contest to unsafe handling of a firearm last March and received a suspended sentence of six months of probation. He agreed to cooperate in the investigation of the shooting.
An earlier FBI report on the agency's analysis of the gun found that, as is common with firearms of that design, it could go off without pulling the trigger if force was applied to an uncocked hammer, such as by dropping the weapon.
The only way the testers could get it to fire was by striking the gun with a mallet while the hammer was down and resting on the cartridge, or by pulling the trigger while it was fully cocked. The gun eventually broke during testing.
The 2021 shooting resulted in a series of civil lawsuits, including wrongful death claims filed by members of Ms Hutchins's family, centred on accusations that the defendants were lax with safety standards. Baldwin and other defendants have disputed those allegations.
The Rust Movie Productions company has paid a $US100,000 ($151,000) fine to state workplace safety regulators after a scathing narrative of failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set before the fatal shooting.
The filming of Rust resumed last year, under an agreement with the cinematographer's widower, Matthew Hutchins, which made him an executive producer.
AP/Reuters