Judge denies Alec Baldwin request to drop indictment for 'Rust' shooting

By Andrew Hay
May 25, 20242:49 AM EDT Updated 5 hours ago

May 24 (Reuters) - A New Mexico judge on Friday rejected Alec Baldwin's bid to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge for the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, opening the way for an unprecedented trial of a Hollywood actor for an on-set death.

Baldwin's lawyers argued at a May 17 hearing that a grand jury indictment of the actor was "a sham" as a New Mexico state prosecutor failed [PDF], opens new tab to tell jurors they could question defense witnesses and stopped them hearing evidence helpful to the actor's case.

District court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, in a court filing, denied the request.

The trial is scheduled to stand trial on July 10.

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Prosecution of Alec Baldwin for 'Rust' shooting

By Andrew Hay
May 24, 2024 7:06 PM EDT Updated 13 hours ago

May 24 (Reuters) - On Oct. 21, 2021 a Colt Single Action Army Revolver actor Alec Baldwin was using to set up a camera shot on the movie "Rust" fired a live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.

The following is a chronology of Baldwin's comments in relation to the shooting on a New Mexico film set and events surrounding Hollywood's first on-set fatal shooting in nearly 30 years.

2021
DECEMBER - In an ABC News interview with George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin denies responsibility for the shooting. He says the revolver "went off" on its own and he did not pull the trigger.

2022
JULY - An FBI test of Baldwin's gun finds it "functioned normally." The revolver would not fire from the full cock position without the trigger pulled.

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