Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty to ‘Rust’ shooting charge
- Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charge
- Actor says he didn't pull trigger, gun discharged when taken out of holster
- Prosecutors had filed charges against him but dropped them before trial
FILE – This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Oct. 23, 2021, used for the film “Rust.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
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(NewsNation) — Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge filed in connection to a fatal shooting on the set of his “Rust” film.
Baldwin entered the plea in a document filed Wednesday and waived his right to an arraignment hearing that was scheduled for Thursday, New Mexico court records show.
Baldwin had previously been charged in the shooting, which led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, but prosecutors dropped the charges before a trial.
Prosecutors refiled the charge earlier this month.
The October 2021 shooting happened after Baldwin allegedly fired a live weapon during a rehearsal on set instead of a prop weapon firing blanks. Baldwin says he pulled back on the hammer, but not the trigger, when it fired.
Baldwin was an actor and producer on the film and was rehearsing a scene that involved drawing a weapon and pointing it toward the camera. Hutchins and director Joel Souza were watching from behind a monitor. The single round went through Hutchins, fatally wounding her, and into Souza, who was injured in the shoulder.
Baldwin says the gun discharged when he took it out of the holster and denied firing it, while an FBI report stated it could only have fired if the trigger had been pulled.
NewsNation digital producer Stephanie Whiteside contributed to this report.
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