Red Carpet Ripped from Under Baldwin, Judge Ends the Party with Introduction to the US Justice System
Actor Alec Baldwin pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charges he faces following a fatal shooting on the set of his film “Rust.”
According to court documents filed on Thursday, Baldwin also waived a virtual first court appearance scheduled for Friday in New Mexico’s First Judicial District Court.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer approved the waiver and allowed Baldwin to be released on his own recognizance as long as he complies with certain conditions, including:
- Not consuming alcohol.
- Not possessing firearms or dangerous weapons.
- Obeying all federal, state, tribal and local laws.
- Maintaining contact with his attorney.
Given the typically lavish lifestyles of Hollywood elites like Baldwin, that first and third bullet point really do seem to indicate that the party is over for the actor.
The judge also allowed the 64-year-old actor to have contact with other witnesses as long as their conversations are related to completing the film and other movie-related business.
The defendant is barred from discussing the shooting or the substance of his or the witnesses’ potential testimony in the case.
Baldwin is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the fatal shooting of 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Sante Fe, New Mexico, while filming the movie “Rust” in October 2021.
Set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Baldwin claims the gun he was holding on the set went off on its own, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
The outspoken liberal has been criticized for deflecting all responsibility for the fatal shooting, including denying that he ever pulled the trigger on the gun that killed Hutchins.
“Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property,” Baldwin told ABC News in December.
“I don’t know what happened on that set. I don’t know how that bullet arrived in that gun … I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them. Never.”
While it does not appear that the shooting was intentional, prosecutors claim the actor displayed a total disregard for basic firearms safety on the movie set.
When asked if he feels guilty about the death resulting from the shooting, Baldwin said absolutely not.
“No, no,” he told ABC News. “Someone is responsible for what happened. And I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
In January, New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said she will vigorously pursue the charges against Baldwin and underscored that he won’t get a free pass just because he’s a celebrity.
“An actor doesn’t get a free pass just because they’re an actor,” Carmack-Altwies told CNN.
“Every person that handles a gun has a duty to make sure, if they are going to handle that gun, point it at someone and pull the trigger, that it is not going to fire a projectile and kill someone. This is really about justice for Halyna Hutchins.”
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