Alec Baldwin sues for malicious prosecution after ‘Rust’ shooting case

Actor Alec Baldwin has filed a civil lawsuit for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations in the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer on the set of the Western movie Rust.

Baldwin claims prosecutors and investigators intentionally mishandled evidence during the case and accuses them of defamation.

The lawsuit names special prosecutor Kari Morrissey, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, three investigators from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, and the county board of commissioners as defendants.

“Defendants sought at every turn to scapegoat Baldwin for the acts and omissions of others, regardless of the evidence or the law,” the lawsuit states. It also says prosecutors and investigators targeted Baldwin for professional or political gain.

Halyna Hutchins died in October 2021 during a rehearsal when a pistol Baldwin handled discharged, also wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin maintains he pulled back the hammer but not the trigger.

Baldwin’s trial was upended by revelations that ammunition was brought into the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins’ killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammo unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin’s lawyers say investigators “buried” the evidence in a separate case folder and filed a successful motion to dismiss

Separately, the shooting led to an involuntary manslaughter conviction at trial last year against movie weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. She is serving out a maximum sentence of 1 1/2 years at a state penitentiary.