Santa Fe D.A. To Reveal Decision On ‘Rust’ Charges Thursday; Alec Baldwin Fatally Shot ‘Rust’ Cinematographer In October 2021

Dominic Patten and Anthony D'Alessandro
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Over a year after Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot by Alec Baldwin on the indie Western’s New Mexico set, the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office will reveal tomorrow if it will be filing charges against the actor, crew members, or the production.

“Regardless of the District Attorney’s decision, the announcement will be a solemn occasion, made in a manner keeping with the office’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the judicial process and respecting the victim’s family,” spokesperson Heather Brewer said today of the 8 AM PT statement expected from Mary Carmack-Altwies and special prosecutor Andrea Reeb.

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Even before the Sante Fe Sheriff’s Office handed over their final FBI-assisted report in October 2022, Carmack-Altwies had gone to state officials seeking extra funds for a possible prosecution that could include multiple Emmy winner Baldwin. The DA was seeking $635,000 from the state to prosecute as many as four individuals; however, she ultimately only received $317,750.

A producer on Rust, as well as the star of the film, Baldwin has always insisted that he did not pull the trigger on the gun that killed Hutchins. Speculation on how a live round got into the supposedly “cold” prop gun on October 21, 2021 has cast a wide net including assistant director Dave Halls, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, armorer mentor Seth Kenney, and others.

Contacted by Deadline today, representatives for Baldwin had no comment at this time about the DA’s Thursday announcement.

As various civil lawsuits in both New Mexico and California continued, Rust producers and Baldwin on October 5, 2022 settled a pending wrongful dearth suit from the Hutchins’ estate with an agreement that the 1880s-set film would get finished, and Hutchins’ husband Matt Hutchins would become an EP on the project. Reports indicated late last year that Rust would not return to New Mexico to finish production, but was eyeing a location shoot in California — though nothing has happened yet.

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