Alec Baldwin is due to face trial for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed in 2021 when the actor pretended gunshot a live round of ammunition on the “Rust” film set.
Baldwin’s indictment was revealed 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,” Baldwin’s Quinn Emanuel attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro stated.
If convicted, Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison. The trial date has not been established.
“We are looking forward to the criminal trial to determine whether he should be convicted for Halyna’s untimely death,” Gloria Allred, Hutchins’ family lawyer, said in a statement Friday.
In November, NBC News got exclusive videos of Baldwin handling at least one fake gun and talking with crew members while filming sequences for “Rust.” The five films showed Baldwin getting ready for sequences, firing firearms, and acting in character.
In two of them, he attempts to reshuffle crew members after expressing concern for their safety. The five videos last roughly seven minutes. The crew was shooting for two weeks before the production was halted.
In October, two sources told NBC News that Baldwin and the special prosecutors discussed taking a plea agreement, but it was revoked in the days leading up to their announcement to bring the matter before a grand jury.
The grand jury indictment comes after the same New Mexico prosecutors dropped Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter allegations in April.
In appearances with ABC News and CNN, Baldwin insisted that he did not pull the trigger and that assistant director Dave Halls pronounced the gun “cold,” meaning it contained no live ammunition. Halls pleaded not guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to six months unsupervised probation.
“I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who it is, but I know it’s not me,” Baldwin told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in December 2021.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, was charged with involuntary manslaughter last year; her trial is due to begin on February 21. She’s pled not guilty.