US actor, Alec Baldwin, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, on the set of the film “Rust.”
The 65-year-old filed a waiver of arraignment on Wednesday, opting to plead not guilty a day before a scheduled virtual court appearance in the First Judicial District Court of Santa Fe, New Mexico, which will now not take place.
In court documents, he said: “I plea not guilty to all of the charges in the complaint or citation.”
Under the terms of his release, Baldwin cannot possess firearms or drink alcohol, and he cannot leave the US without written consent from the court.
The terms also forbid him from having contact with witnesses in the case, except for business reasons related to the release of the film, and he cannot solicit witnesses to participate in a documentary about the making of the film.
Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer of the film, was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal in October 2021, when the weapon went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
The actor has said he pulled back the hammer, but not the trigger, and the gun fired.
He was initially charged in January last year, but those charges were formally dismissed three months later.
Earlier in January 2024, special prosecutors brought the case before a grand jury in Santa Fe, after receiving a new analysis of the gun, and Baldwin was re-charged.
The indictment accuses Baldwin of involuntary manslaughter through negligent use of a firearm, and an alternative charge of involuntary manslaughter “without due caution or circumspection.”
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film’s armourer, has previously pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering, and is set to go on trial on February 21.
The filming of Rust resumed last year in Montana, under an agreement with the cinematographer’s widower Matthew Hutchins, that made him an executive producer.
A representative for Baldwin has been contacted.
GNA
