Alec Baldwin Has Charge Against Him Dropped in Connection With Deadly ‘Rust’ Set Shooting

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File

Charges against actor Alec Baldwin for the on set accident that led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins have been reduced.

Back in January, Baldwin and the armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed were charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Hutchins on the set of the film Rust in 2021.

The incident took place on Oct. 21, 2021, on the film’s set location in New Mexico. Baldwin was practicing drawing his weapon for a scene — a Colt .45 revolver — when the gun suddenly went off killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

After being formally charged in early February, Baldwin’s legal team filed a motion that one of the charges, firearm enhancement, be dismissed — citing that the law was passed and took effect after the shooting in 2021 and does not apply constitutionally to Baldwin’s case.

On Monday, the Santa Fe, New Mexico DA’s office announced that the charge would be dropped. The decision lowered the potential jail time for Baldwin from five years to just a maximum of 18 months, if found guilty.

“In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the ‘Rust’ film set,” Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said in a statement.

Baldwin is set to attend his first hearing in the case this Friday.