Possible Criminal Charges For Alec Baldwin &‘ Rust’ Crew Coming Thursday

On Thursday, January 19, the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office will decide if actor Alec Baldwin or anyone else on the “Rust” set will be criminally charged in the death of Halyna Hutchins.

The cinematographer was killed on the set of the Western film on October 26, 2021, at Bonanza Creek Ranch. While rehearsing a scene, a gun held by Baldwin went off, although he later insisted he did not pull the trigger. The bullet killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.

Although a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Hutchins family was filed in February, it was settled last October. Tomorrow, the public will finally learn if Alec Baldwin or anyone else on the “Rust” set or production team will face criminal charges for Halyna’s death.

Spokesperson Heather Brewer made a statement revealing on Wednesday revealing that the decision would be made tomorrow from Mary Carmack-Altwies and special prosecutor Andrea Reeb, via Deadline.

“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,” Brewer said on Wednesday, January 18.

The police investigation into Hutchins’ death, aided by the FBI, was finally finished in October 2022 and handed over to the District Attorney’s office to make a final decision about who – if anyone – will be charged in Hutchins’ death.

Even before that report was concealed, however, Mary Carmack-Altwies had sent a letter to the state asking for $635,000 to prosecute as many as four individuals; however, she only received $317,750.

Baldwin has continually insisted that he did not know how a live bullet ended up on a movie set, or in the gun that he was holding while rehearsing a scene that day.

It’s possible that assistant director Dave Halls, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, and armorer mentor Seth Kenney, among others, could also be charged in the shooting.

In December, less than two months after the fatal shooting, Alec Baldwin sat down with news anchor George Stephanopoulos to talk about the shooting during the ABC News special “Alec Baldwin Unscripted.” The hour-long special saw the “30 Rock” actor explain what happen from his perspective.

Baldwin said that they were running through a “marking rehearsal” which led to him adjusting the gun’s position. He admitted to pulling back the gun’s hammer and cocking the weapon but insisted that he never actually pulled the trigger.

"I cock the gun. I go, 'Can you see that? Can you see that? Can you see that?' " he said. "And then I let go of the hammer of the gun, and the gun goes off.”

At the time, the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Hutchins’ family hadn’t even begun yet. However, Baldwin was already anxious for the investigation to be over. "I feel like I really can't wait for that process to end," he said. "I wanted to ... say that I would go to any lengths to undo what happened."

That being said, the “Beetlejuice” actor insisted that he did not have anything to do with Hutchins’ death and feels that someone else should take the blame for her death. "Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can't say who that is," Baldwin told Stephanopoulos in the interview. "But I know it's not me."

It’s understandable that Baldwin is trying to distance himself from the “Rust” tragedy. His wife, Hilaria Baldwin, recently welcomed her seventh child – his eighth – last September. In addition, the 27-year-old daughter that he shared with ex-wife Kim Basinger, Ireland Baldwin, announced that she was pregnant on New Year’s Eve.

Also on Wednesday, Ireland spoke up about the struggles that she is facing as a first-time mother. “It’s hard not being really close to family to begin with because they live far or are idiots that I want nothing to do with,” she wrote in a lengthy Instagram post.

“This sh*t is HARD. And you’re not alone if you feel the same. And it’s ok to be REAL and post highlight reels. It’s ok to be happy and sad at the same time,” she wrote in the caption. “I am grateful but I am struggling and that’s perfectly ok.”