Alec Baldwin pleaded not guilty Wednesday in the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in 2021.
Baldwin, 65, waived a video arraignment that had been scheduled for Thursday. He entered the plea in New Mexico district court in Santa Fe.
The “Mission: Impossible” star also pleaded not guilty to similar charges in February 2023, but they were dropped two months later. In October 2023, prosecutors took the case to a grand jury, and in January, Baldwin was again charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Baldwin was pointing a revolver at Hutchins, the “Rust” cinematographer, during filming on Oct. 21, 2021 at Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe. He claims that he only pulled the gun’s hammer before it fired a real bullet, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
In a December 2021 interview on ABC, Baldwin said that the scene didn’t even call for him to pull the trigger.
Investigators took the gun to forensic experts in Arizona, Lucien and Michael Haag, for analysis. The Haags determined that the gun could not have fired without someone pulling the trigger. Their report led to the refiled charges.
Prosecutors can hold Baldwin to one of two standards for involuntary manslaughter, according to the grand jury indictment. They can argue he committed negligent use of a firearm or that he had “total disregard or indifference for the safety of others.”
Baldwin also settled a civil lawsuit with Hutchins’ widower, Matthew, and 9-year-old son, Andros. Matthew Hutchins became an executive producer on “Rust” as part of the settlement, and the movie finished shooting in May 2023.
With News Wire Services
