This is a shocking development in the high-profile case.
Alec Baldwin’s legal issues surrounding the deadly shooting that occurred in the fatal 2021 “Rust” shooting have taken a dramatic turn after it was reportedly dropped. The ruling was issued barely two weeks before a mini-trial was about to start involving the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
According to information obtained by Deadline on Thursday, special prosecutors Jason Lewis and Kari Morrissey are anticipated to drop Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charges without opposition.
However, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, a co-defendant and former armorer, is still facing accusations that have not yet been withdrawn. This implies that more investigation into the crime and Baldwin’s participation is possible.
Baldwin’s lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, expressed their satisfaction with the decision to drop the case against Baldwin and encouraged a thorough investigation into the facts and circumstances of this unfortunate tragedy to CNN in response to the news.
The decision to withdraw the charges was made only two weeks before a mini-trial for the murder of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was about to begin.
As we previously reported, Baldwin’s fake gun accidentally fired a real bullet, striking Hutchins in the chest, resulting in her death on the movie set. Joel Souza, the movie’s director, also had injuries during the filming, but no charges about this were brought against the actor.
Baldwin entered a not-guilty plea to the February fatal shooting accident and has denied ever firing the trigger ever since. However, the prosecution didn’t buy it as images and videos clearly depict Baldwin having his finger “inside the trigger guard and on the trigger” before the fatal shooting at several points.
Although Baldwin was cleared of all charges, it is uncertain whether the matter will ever be brought back up. Meanwhile, this week, “Rust” filming is scheduled to resume in Montana.