Alec Baldwin stands accused of the involuntary manslaughter of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (top right) on the set of “Rust” (bottom right).
Close family members of slain cinematographer Halyna Hutchins will hit actor Alec Baldwin and the movie “Rust” with a second lawsuit on Thursday. Her husband, son and estate settled a separate complaint, and the new one will be pursued by her mother, sister and father.
Famed victims’ rights attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Hutchins’ parents and sister, is holding a press conference in California at 11:30 a.m. PST on Thursday to announce the new complaint.
Hutchins’ mother and sister will not appear at that conference in person, only through a video and still photos. Allred’s office says the late cinematographer’s father will only be seen in a still photo.
The development compounds Baldwin’s mounting civil and criminal woes for allegedly firing the shot that killed Hutchins on the set of “Rust” on Oct. 21, 2021.
Baldwin insists that the gun simply went off without him firing.
Prosecutors, who have charged the actor with involuntary manslaughter, asserted that the FBI found that claim implausible after extensive testing. Baldwin could face five years imprisonment if convicted of a firearm enhancement on the top charge, but legal experts say that the actor could mount a potent constitutional challenge to avoid that fate. That statute was amended the year after the shooting, potentially implicating the Constitution’s ex-post facto clause.
In his opening salvo opposing the charges against him, Baldwin’s legal team sought to disqualify special prosecutor Andrea Reeb’s participation in the case as “unconstitutional.” An elected Republican lawmaker in New Mexico, Reeb would be serving in the state’s legislative and judicial branches simultaneously, and Baldwin says the Land of Enchantment’s constitution forbids that.
The Santa Fe District Attorney’s office and a special prosecutor also charged two other people with Baldwin: armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director David Halls, the latter of whom entered into a plea deal with the government.
Halls pleaded down to negligent use of a deadly weapon, which will have him avoid prison time through a suspended sentence and six months of probation.
The prior lawsuit filed by Hutchins’ husband accused Baldwin of wrongful death, recounting the fatal shooting with dramatic foreboding in a complaint.
“Defendant Baldwin was sitting on a church pew at the Bonanza Creek location, approximately four feet away from multiple members of the crew of Rust, when he reached across his body and used his right hand to grab the revolver holstered on his left side, drew the revolver with a ‘cross draw’ movement across his body and aimed it directly at Ms. Hutchins while drawing back the hammer on the revolver. He released the revolver’s hammer, and – BAM – Defendant Baldwin fired the revolver,” the prior lawsuit, filed in the First Judicial District of Santa Fe, read.
The soon-to-be-announced lawsuit does not yet appear to have been filed. It is unclear where it will be filed, but the press conference will take place in Los Angeles, California.
Baldwin’s lawyer Luke Nikas didn’t immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
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