Shocking! Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Trial Kicks Off: Was He Just a ‘Shiny Object’ in Investigation?

The criminal case against Alec Baldwin, related to the fatal shooting on the set of “Rust”, largely revolves around one key question: Was it the actor’s duty to ensure his firearm was safe?

As the hearing on Baldwin’s charges of involuntary manslaughter started on Wednesday, the prosecutor argued that Baldwin was negligent in the 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins, the film’s cinematographer, because he didn’t inspect his gun and frequently deviated from the script during the low-budget western’s production near Santa Fe.

Special prosecutor Erlinda O. Johnson alleged that Baldwin’s reckless action of unexpectedly cocking his prop gun’s hammer and pulling the trigger during a rehearsal on October 21, 2021, resulted in Hutchins’ death.

However, Baldwin’s defense team painted a starkly different picture.

Alex Spiro, Baldwin’s lawyer, argued that the real issue wasn’t Baldwin’s handling of the firearm, which he noted is a typical part of an actor’s job. He suggested the actual crime was the presence of a live round on the New Mexico film set.

Spiro pointed out that the movie’s safety officer and weapons specialist, as well as the sheriff’s deputies who couldn’t identify the live ammunition’s origin, failed to carry out their responsibilities.

“They never found the deadly bullet,” Spiro said. “They found another shiny object in their search for the lethal bullet and shifted their focus to Mr. Baldwin.”

Spiro implied that the sheriff’s deputies and prosecutors were under immense pressure due to intense media attention.

He emphasized that even though the shooting was initially viewed as an accident, state officials began scrutinizing Baldwin’s behavior, even though they knew he hadn’t brought the bullets to the set.

Spiro insisted that it was the film’s assistant director and the armorer’s job — not the actor’s — to check the guns. He said that Baldwin’s role was to convincingly portray his character, Harland Rust, the outlaw.

“In that moment, he was fully immersed in his character,” Spiro said. “He was simply acting, as he has done for years. The safety experts let everyone down. Alec Baldwin committed no crime.”

Baldwin was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter in January and has maintained his innocence. The trial is expected to span eight days.

If found guilty, he could face up to 18 months in jail.

“On a movie set, you are allowed to pull the trigger,” Spiro noted, adding that Baldwin “had no knowledge or reason to believe that the gun was loaded with a live bullet.”

After Spiro finished his opening statement and sat next to Baldwin, the actor whispered something in Spiro’s ear with his arms around him.

The 66-year-old actor-producer arrived at the Santa Fe County courthouse at 8 a.m. with his wife, Hilaria. He embraced his sister, Elizabeth Keuchler, who came for the trial’s first day. She sat next to their brother, Stephen Baldwin, in the courtroom’s second row, behind the defense table, with Hilaria Baldwin by his side.

Gloria Allred, a well-known attorney for victims’ rights, sat in the first row behind the prosecutors. Allred represents Hutchins’ Ukrainian family members and “Rust” script supervisor Mamie Mitchell.

Baldwin and the other producers, who have been sued for negligence by the family members and Mitchell, deny any wrongdoing.

The film’s director, Joel Souza, who was injured in the shooting but has since recovered, is expected to testify.

“The director will testify that the actor often took liberties with his role,” Johnson, the prosecutor, said.

She also pointed out that the camera crew had left the “Rust” set due to safety concerns, hours before the tragic incident.

The 2021 shooting cast a dark shadow on New Mexico’s thriving film industry.

“We are not a wealthy state and we work hard to attract industry here, and the film industry is really beginning to flourish,” Santa Fe resident Gail Anderson said on Tuesday evening.

The “Rust” shooting “exposed the need for tighter management on film sets,” Anderson added.

Over 100 reporters and TV camera operators gathered around the courthouse in downtown Santa Fe on Wednesday.

Court TV and the Law&Crime network are livestreaming the trial.

In January, grand jurors determined there was enough evidence to charge Baldwin for allegedly acting negligently by aiming a loaded gun at Hutchins without first verifying the weapon was unloaded.

In March, a different jury found the armorer Hannah Gutierrez guilty of involuntary manslaughter. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Assistant director David Halls pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon last year. He was given a suspended sentence of six months of probation, which he completed last fall.

Now, it’s the jury’s task to decide if Baldwin should also be held accountable.

“I’m not a friend of Alec Baldwin, but that man would never deliberately shoot someone on a set,” Anderson, the Santa Fe resident, said. “It’s just a terrible tragedy.”