Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charge in "Rust" shooting

Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the ongoing legal battle over the fatal shooting on the "Rust" film set that claimed the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021, NPR reported. Baldwin and the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were both charged with involuntary manslaughter last January; however, those charges were dismissed in April after special prosecutors said they were told the gun may have been modified ahead of the shooting and malfunctioned. But last month, a Sante Fe grand jury indicted Baldwin, following a forensic report conducted in August that determined the trigger on Baldwin's Colt .45 revolver "had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver," per NPR. New special prosecutors Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis subsequently sought a new charge.

According to NPR, Baldwin is currently free pending trial and barred from leaving the country, consuming alcohol and possessing firearms. Gutierrez-Reed pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence related to Hutchins's death and bringing a gun into a Santa Fe bar in the days ahead of the fatal shooting. Her trial will begin Feb. 22.

Morrissey, in a court filing on Monday, alleged that there is "substantial" evidence demonstrating that Gutierrez-Reed unknowingly brought live bullets to the set of the Western film. She was previously offered a "favorable plea" last September if she would admit to bringing the live rounds. “If Hannah can provide any answers regarding the origin of the live rounds I am happy to work with her but short of that we should just move on,” Morrissey wrote in an email to Gutierrez-Reed's attorney, per Variety.