Alec Baldwin’s Behavior on ‘Rust’ Set Contributed to Unsafe Working Conditions, New Legal Filing Claims

In a new legal filing, New Mexico prosecutors gave a insight into their tactic for the upcoming case against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The motion, reviewed by CNN, was filed on Monday after Baldwin’s attorneys moved to dismiss the case in March.

Baldwin was indicted for a second time in January following the tragic events of October 21, 2021. Baldwin, along with Hutchins, director Joel Souza, and other crew members, had been rehearsing a scene for the indie western in which he was supposed to hold a gun directly to camera. The gun somehow discharged a live round, which passed through Hutchins and hit Souza in the shoulder.

Hutchins was airlifted to a local hospital, but died later that day. Souza was treated for his injuries and released.

Last month, Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. She’s currently being held in a New Mexico jail awaiting sentencing, which could see her spend as many as 18 months behind bars.

In their new filing, prosecutors allege that Baldwin repeatedly “changed his story” regarding the events before, during, and after the shooting. They also claim that the 30 Rock star had “absolutely no control of his own emotions.”

The filing alleges that members of the Rust crew told prosecutors that Reed appeared “inexperienced and overwhelmed,” which Baldwin then ignored and then exacerbated the situation with his behavior.

As prosecutors tell it, Baldwin was immediately dissatisfied with the process when he arrived on set, instructing the crew to “work faster” in order to maximize the film’s low budget. According to the filing, “Baldwin’s “relentless rushing of the crew on the movie set routinely compromised safety.”

The filing goes on to claim that Baldwin was often seen on set screaming obscenities at specific crew members, though sometimes he appeared to be swearing either at himself or at the crew at large. Prosecutors say this shows he had “absolutely no concern for how his conduct” affected safety and morale around the set.

“Witnesses have testified that it was this exact conduct that contributed to safety compromises on set,” the filing claims. “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."

Prosecutors also included in the filing a number of Baldwin’s public remarks related to Hutchins’ death, claiming that they are evidence of the actor attempting to influence or change perception of the series of events.

Baldwin, through his counsel, has declined any comment on the claims in the new filing. In a March filing requesting for all charges to be dismissed, his attorneys blasted prosecutors for their conduct, claiming that they have “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 attorneys claimed.

Baldwin’s trial is currently set to begin in July.