Alec Baldwin is headed to trial over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed in 2021 after the actor’s prop gun fired a live round of ammunition on the “Rust” film set.
The decision to indict Baldwin was announced Friday after a New Mexico grand jury heard evidence presented by special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis. He was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter.
“We look forward to our day in court,” said Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, of Quinn Emanuel.
If convicted, Baldwin could face up to 18 months in prison. A trial date has not been set.
In November, NBC News exclusively obtained several videos that showed Baldwin handling at least one prop gun and interacting with crew members while he was filming scenes for “Rust.” The five videos showed Baldwin preparing for scenes, firing the guns and acting in character. In two of them, he tries to rearrange crew members after having expressed concerns about their safety. The five videos total about seven minutes. The crew was shooting for two weeks before production was shut down.
In October, two sources told NBC News that Baldwin and the special prosecutors had discussed his taking a plea deal but that it was rescinded in the days before their announcement to bring the case before a grand jury.
The grand jury’s indictment comes after the same New Mexico prosecutors dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin in April.
Baldwin has maintained in interviews with ABC News and CNN that he didn’t pull the trigger and that the gun was declared “cold,” with no live ammunition, by assistant director Dave Halls. Halls pleaded no contest in March to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to serve six months of unsupervised probation.
“I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me,” Baldwin said in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in December 2021.
The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was charged last year with involuntary manslaughter, and her trial is set to begin Feb. 21. She has pleaded not guilty.
