OAN Staff James Meyers
11:13 AM – Friday, January 10, 2025
Actor Alec Baldwin is now suing Santa Fe, New Mexico, officials after a judge dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against him for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust.”
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The 66-year-old actor filed a 73-page civil rights lawsuit on Thursday in Santa Fe’s First Judicial District Court against special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, in addition to a number of other officials and investigators who were involved in the case.
The actor is accusing the defendants of civil rights violations, including “malicious” prosecution, abuse of process, and defamation, among other claims.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants intentionally concealed evidence and elicited false testimony as they pursued the case. The documents further claim that the prosecutors “sought at every turn to scapegoat Baldwin for the acts and omissions of others, regardless of the evidence or the law.”
“Defendants, while acting under the color of law, conspired to procure a groundless indictment against Baldwin and to maliciously bring about or advance Baldwin’s trial and conviction, thus violating Baldwin’s constitutional rights by their improper use of the criminal process,” the lawsuit claimed.
Meanwhile, Baldwin is now requesting another jury trial and he is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
The move to drop the appeal had strengthened the decision by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer halfway through the trial. She eventually dismissed the case due to allegations that police and prosecutors allegedly “withheld evidence” from the defense.
At the time, Baldwin’s attorneys, Alex Spiro and Luke Nikas, shared a joint statement with the Hollywood Reporter.
“Today’s decision to dismiss the appeal is the final vindication of what Alec Baldwin and his attorneys have said from the beginning — this was an unspeakable tragedy, but Alec Baldwin committed no crime. The rule of law remains intact in New Mexico,” the statement read.
During the summer, Sommer dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against the “30 Rock” actor, ruling that the prosecution concealed evidence from his legal team.
“The state’s willful withholding of this information was intentional and deliberate,” Sommer said. “If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly comes so near to bad faith as to show signs of scorching prejudice.”
In October, Sommer upheld her decision to dismiss the case.
Hutchins, the film’s cinematographer at the time, died shortly after being shot by Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal for “Rust” in October 2021, which transpired at a film-set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer, had been pointing a revolver at Hutchins when it discharged, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin later claimed that he pulled back the hammer, “but not the trigger,” and that the revolver ended up firing a bullet.
The actor was first charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023.
In March, “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed was convicted of loading a live round into the revolver. As a result, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
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