NEWSAlec Baldwin Claims He Was Maliciously Prosecuted by New Mexico Officials Over 'Rust' Shooting in Bombshell Civil Rights Lawsuit
Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter case was dismissed in July 2024.
Alec Baldwin is fighting back after criminal charges against him were dropped in connection to the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The famed actor filed a lawsuit in New Mexico federal court on Thursday, January 9, accusing special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey, First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and others of malicious prosecution and civil rights violations after they allegedly hid evidence that could have proven his innocence.
Alec Baldwin was hit with criminal charges over the fatal shooting of 'Rust' cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The 66-year-old, who claimed prosecutors tried to convict him for political gain, insisted via his lawyers that Carmack-Altwies and Morrissey were "blinded by their desire to convict Alec Baldwin for all the wrong reasons, and at any cost."
"Defendants sought at every turn to scapegoat" the Beetlejuice star for the acts and omissions of others, regardless of the evidence or the law" while working together to "maliciously bring about or advance Baldwin’s trial and conviction," per court documents obtained by a news publication.
Halyna Hutchins died in October 2021 after a prop gun fired a real bullet on the set of 'Rust.'
In a statement to the news outlet, Baldwin's attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro declared: "Criminal prosecutions are supposed to be about the search for truth and justice, not to pursue personal or political gain or harass the innocent. Kari Morrissey and the other defendants violated that basic principle, over and over, and trampled on Alec Baldwin’s rights."
Baldwin — who seeks unspecified damages — additionally sued for defamation, malicious abuse of the judicial process and intentional spoliation of evidence.
Alec Baldwin sued prosecutors in a lawsuit filed Thursday, January 9.
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Meanwhile, Morrisey challenged Baldwin's legal filing in her own message to the newspaper, stating, "In October 2023 the prosecution team became aware that Mr. Baldwin intended to file a retaliatory civil lawsuit. We look forward to our day in court."
Baldwin's latest legal battle comes more than three years after Hutchins was accidentally shot during the filming of Rust in October 2021.
Despite denying pulling the trigger of the prop gun that fired a real bullet, killed Hutchins and injured Rust director Joel Souza, Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in January 2023.
He pleaded not guilty one month later and the charges were dropped in April 2023, however, Baldwin was charged once again for involuntary manslaughter, resulting in an intense July 2024 trial.
The actor is seeking unspecified damages.
At the trial, First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sided with Baldwin's lawyers claims of prosecutors allegedly concealing evidence and ultimately dismissed the case with prejudice — meaning the case could never be filed against The Boss Baby voice actor again.
"There is no way for the court to right this wrong. The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy," Sommer said in court last year.
The Los Angeles Times obtained court documents regarding Baldwin's civil rights lawsuit, as well as statements from the actor's lawyers and Morrissey.
