Alec Baldwin had ‘no control of his own emotions’ on ‘Rust’ set, prosecutors claim in new legal filing
(CNN) — Special prosecutors in New Mexico claim in a new legal filing that actor Alec Baldwin’s behavior on the “Rust” movie set contributed to “safety compromises” that led to the fatal shooting of the film’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.
Prosecutors sought to defend their case in a filing Friday after Baldwin’s team filed a motion in March to dismiss the indictment against the actor.
Prosecutors argue Baldwin has repeatedly “changed his story” about the events of the shooting and he had “absolutely no control of his own emotions” on set, according to a copy of the response obtained by CNN.
A representative for Baldwin declined to comment on the new filing.
The filing says during his first days on set, Baldwin demanded the crew and the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, “work faster” and his “relentless rushing of the crew on the movie set routinely compromised safety.”
Baldwin, according to the filing, frequently screamed and cursed at crew members, and himself or at no one in particular on set and had “absolutely no concern for how his conduct” affected those around him. “Witnesses have testified that it was this exact conduct that contributed to safety compromises on set,” the filing alleged.
In January, Baldwin pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in the shooting, which left Hutchins dead and injured director Joel Souza when a gun held by Baldwin fired a live round during a scene rehearsal on the set of the western.
Gutierrez Reed – who was responsible for firearm safety and storage on the movie’s set – was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March. She faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Prosecutors also allege in the filing that many crew members observed Gutierrez Reed on set to be “inexperienced and overwhelmed,” and Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, had overlooked this behavior.
“The combination of Hannah Gutierrez’s negligence and inexperience and Alec Baldwin’s complete lack of concern for the safety of those around him would prove deadly for Halyna Hutchins,” the filing reads.
Prosecutors also criticized public statements made by Baldwin after the incident, accusing the actor of attempting to sway public opinion.
Baldwin’s lawyers denounced the case against the actor in their March filing, requesting to dismiss the indictment and saying prosecutors “publicly dragged Baldwin through the cesspool created by their improprieties—without any regard for the fact that serious criminal charges have been hanging over his head for two and a half years.”
“This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme,” his lawyers said in the filing.
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CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister, Josh Campbell, Cheri Mossburg, Taylor Romine, Nouran Salahieh and Elizabeth Joseph contributed to this report.
