Charge to be dropped against Alec Baldwin

Santa Fe, NM (AP) —

Prosecutors in New Mexico plan to drop an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film Rust, Baldwin’s attorneys said Thursday.

“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,” attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in a statement.

Baldwin and the film’s weapons supervisor, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were both charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting.

Baldwin was pointing a pistol at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when the gun when off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has said the gun went off accidentally and that he did not pull the trigger. An FBI forensic report found the weapon could not have fired unless the trigger was pulled.

Prosecutors didn’t immediately comment on the case and it wasn’t clear whether charges could be refiled, nor whether the charge would also be dropped against Gutierrez-Reed. Her attorneys said that they “fully expect at the end of this process that Hannah will also be exonerated”.

The case against Baldwin had already been diminishing. A weapons charge that would have meant a much longer sentence had already been dismissed, and the first special prosecutor appointed in the case resigned.

The charges against 65-year-old Baldwin had marked a stunning fall for an A-list actor whose 40-year career included The Hunt for Red October and a starring role in the sitcom 30 Rock, as well as an iconic appearance in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed.

News of the dismissal came on the day that filming on the movie was expected to restart.