Criminal charges against Alec Baldwin in the tragic shooting that led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust,” have been dropped, according to his attorneys.
Claims of involuntary manslaughter were dropped, for now, with the mini-trial scheduled to begin in less than two weeks.
“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,” a statement from Baldwin’s lawyers read.
Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, recently appointed special prosecutors for the case, are expected to dismiss the claims without prejudice, Deadline reports.
All criminal charges against Alec Baldwin have been dropped over fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on set of Rust, his lawyers say https://t.co/3nhVwYCsB1
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) April 20, 2023
Questions abound of what led the prosecutors to drop the charges.
BREAKING: Charges against Alec Baldwin DROPPED in fatal shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.
Who else thinks it’s suspicious the prosecutors dropped the case? pic.twitter.com/U0O4rxyDfl
— The Trump Train 🚂🇺🇸 (@The_Trump_Train) April 20, 2023
WATCH:
Prosecutors in New Mexico announced they plan to drop charges against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust." pic.twitter.com/ZUBIQ9fmsb
— The Recount (@therecount) April 20, 2023
Deadline noted that Baldwin’s co-defendant still has outstanding charges against her.
As of now, Baldwin’s co-defendant and ex-Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed still has charges standing against her, we understand — thereby keeping the probe open and retaining subpoena power for prosecutors going forward.
Both Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin had pleaded not guilty. Since an interview on ABC just weeks after the slaying of Hutchins, Baldwin repeatedly has insisted that he did not pull the trigger on the 1880s prop gun that killed the DoP — an insistence the FBI disagreed with in its report on the matter released last year. With Baldwin lawyers last month contesting the state of the gun, further investigation into the firearm looks certain to being undertaken as a part of any renewed probe.
These latest developments are occurring as production on a resurrected Rust was set to start in Montana with Baldwin and director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the October 2021 shooting. Originally scheduled to begin earlier this week, Rust 2.0 now is looking at starting tomorrow, we hear — though that could shift based on these new developments. The timing of the charges being dropped against Baldwin just before the new Rust production commences seems almost uncanny, though we are told it is purely coincidence.
NBC News added:
The case against Baldwin appeared to be fraught from the start, when special prosecutor Andrea Reeb was forced to resign amid defense claims that she had a conflict of interest.
Reeb is also a New Mexico state representative and her work for the DA would mean she’s occupying two separate lanes of government that should be separated, Baldwin’s team said.
The district attorney is “considered to be a member of either the judicial or executive branch of the New Mexico government,” Baldwin’s legal team said in a filing.
And legal analysts said the state was always going to have a difficult burden of proving Hutchins’ death was anything more than a tragic accident.
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