OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
6:22 PM – Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Actor Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges in regards to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the upcoming movie Rust.
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In a court document filed on Wednesday, Baldwin, 65, gave up his right to an arraignment that was set for this Thursday when he entered the plea.
Court documents state that the actor is subject to a number of restrictions under the terms of his release, including a ban from owning firearms.
The 65-year-old actor was charged with involuntary manslaughter in January by a grand jury. If he is found guilty, the charge is a fourth-degree felony carrying a maximum 18-month prison sentence.
On January 19th, a grand jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico, indicted Baldwin for the 2021 on-set filming.
In October 2021, Hutchins was shot and killed by a .45 bullet that Baldwin was aiming at her with an antique six-shooter during the filming of the upcoming film Rust.
While practicing a cross-draw on the Santa Fe movie set, Baldwin struck 42-year-old Hutchins. Joel Souza, the director, also sustained a non-life-threatening injury.
However, Baldwin, who not only played a role in the film and was also an executive producer, asserted that he “never pulled the trigger.” However, the FBI later concluded that the revolver needed to have the trigger pulled in order for it to fire.
The Santa Fe District Attorney had previously charged Baldwin in January 2022 for the same offense. He entered a not guilty plea at that time as well, but the case eventually collapsed, and the charges were withdrawn in April of that year after the court decided that additional testing on the gun that killed Hutchins was necessary.
Meanwhile, the district attorney was transparent that it was a conclusion to the case at the time and approaching charges could eventually come.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, a 27-year-old Rust armorer who managed the weapons on the film set, has also been charged with similar offenses by prosecutors and is awaiting trial after entering a not guilty plea.
If found guilty, Baldwin could spend 18 months behind bars.
The filming of Rust was temporarily suspended after the controversial firearms shooting tragedy. However, in April of last year, filming resumed. The film concluded in May 2023 and has yet to be released into movie theaters.
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