Alec Baldwin Sues Over ‘Rust’ Prosecution, Claims Civil Rights Violations

Alec Baldwin has sued Santa Fe officials for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations for pursuing criminal charges against him in the accidental shooting death of a cinematographer on the set of Rust.

Baldwin, in a lawsuit filed on Thursday in federal court in New Mexico, alleges prosecutors intentionally concealed evidence that would vindicate him and sought to charge him for political gain. He accuses Santa Fe district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and special prosecutor Kari Morrissey of manipulating evidence and eliciting false testimony. They “sought at every turn to scapegoat” him while conspiring to “maliciously bring about or advance Baldwin’s trial and conviction,” the lawsuit says.

In a statement, Morrissey said she learned in 2023 that Baldwin “intended to file a retaliatory civil lawsuit.” She added, “We look forward to our day in court.”

The complaint was filed after the state’s top prosecutor declined to bring an appeal of a New Mexico judge’s order dismissing the case. That judge ended the criminal case against Baldwin when she dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges, finding that the prosecution “intentionally and deliberately withheld” key evidence from the defense. Morrissey, the court concluded, not only repeatedly failed to fulfill discovery obligations but also gave “inconsistent” testimony related to the evidence she suppressed.

The ruling followed Baldwin’s trial abruptly ending in stunning fashion in July after an unexpected, labyrinthian hearing over how police and prosecutors treated a handful of bullets. It related to retired Arizona police officer Troy Teske turning over a collection of live ammunition to the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office. While the bullets were taken in by crime scene technician Marissa Poppell, they weren’t inventoried with the Rust case, effectively hiding the evidence from Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, Baldwin’s lawyers, said in a statement that prosecutions are “supposed to be about the search for truth and justice, not to pursue personal or political gain or harass the innocent.” They stressed that Morrissey and other officials “violated that basic principle, over and over, and trampled on Alec Baldwin’s rights.”

On top of civil rights violations, the lawsuit also brings claims for defamation, malicious abuse of the judicial process and intentional spoilation of evidence. Baldwin seeks unspecified damages.

The lawsuit points to a series of high-profile missteps by the prosecution. At the top of the list: Citing a firearm law that wasn’t in effect at the time of the shooting and a conflict of interest from former special prosecutor Andrea Reeb, who was part of the team that initially charged Baldwin and is named in the complaint, stemming from her elected position in the New Mexico House of Representatives, with leaked emails indicating that she sought to leverage the case for political gain.

Baldwin says that the evidence in the state’s possession should’ve supported the conclusion that he “exercised caution and that, even if he had not, Hutchins would still be alive if not for the superseding negligence of someone other than” him.

The defamation claims revolve around Carmack-Altwies asserting in a 2023 interview on CNN that Baldwin “had a duty to make sure the set was safe” and that he “should have checked that gun, checked those projectiles.” Baldwin says the statements falsely implied that he was responsible for Hutchins’ death.

The lawsuit, which also cites other statements from prosecutors, adds, “The false and defamatory statements carry the unmistakable message that Baldwin committed a serious crime—i.e., that he negligently or recklessly caused the death of another human.”