Dan Abrams: Prosecutors ‘Threw the Book at Alec Baldwin’

ABC News Chief Legal Analyst Dan Abrams broke down Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with the fatal 2021 shooting on set for the film, Rust.

The Mediaite founder joined Diane Macedo to discuss Thursday’s announcement that Baldwin and Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will both face charges over the gunshot that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.

“The prosecutors just threw the book at Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez Reed,” Abrams said. He added, “They threw everything they possibly could at both of them. In particular, when you talk about these involuntary manslaughter charges, typically in the state of New Mexico, the maximum punishment for involuntary manslaughter is up to 18 months. Well, they have added an enhancement on one of the charges, a firearm enhancement, which adds a potential mandatory penalty because a firearm was involved. The firearm enhancement makes the crime punishable by a mandatory five years.”

Because of these enhanced charges, Abrams assessed that the prosecutors “have gone all out in determining that Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez Reed are criminally responsible.”

I’ll give you one more quote from them. They say ‘The evidence shows a pattern of disregard for safety on the Rust film set. In New Mexico, there’s no room for sets that don’t take our gun safety and public safety seriously.’ Let me add one other point here, which is the next step in this proceeding will be a preliminary hearing, which will be a kind of mini-trial where a judge will determine, is there enough evidence to go to trial.”

Abrams said he anticipates “a pretty brutal fight” by Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed to get the case dismissed before it reaches trial, more so than in a standard criminal case. Ultimately, however, he believes it’s a “longshot” that the case will be thrown out.

Watch above via ABC.