A judge's surprise ruling has ended the prosecution of Alec Baldwin nearly three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on the New Mexico set of the film “Rust."
The ruling, which came in the trial's fourth day, was a surprise end to case that had already been dropped once. The judge's ruling prevents Baldwin from being tried again.
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Actor Alec Baldwin reacts during his trial for involuntary manslaughter for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of the Western movie "Rust," Friday, July 12, 2024, at Santa Fe County District Court in Santa Fe, N.M. The judge threw out the case against Baldwin in the middle of his trial and said it cannot be filed again. (Ramsay de Give/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - A musician plays a violin behind a photograph of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a vigil in her honor in Albuquerque, N.M., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. A New Mexico judge is considering an array of restrictions on evidence, testimony and arguments ahead of a trial for Alec Baldwin. The Monday, July 8, 2024, pretrial hearing sets the stage for Baldwin to appear in court this week on a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a cinematographer. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
FILE - In this image taken from video released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, Alec Baldwin speaks with investigators following a fatal shooting on a movie set in Santa Fe, N.M. A New Mexico judge is considering an array of restrictions on evidence, testimony and arguments ahead of a trial for Alec Baldwin. The Monday, July 8, 2024, pretrial hearing sets the stage for Baldwin to appear in court this week on a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a cinematographer. (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
FILE - Actor Alec Baldwin attends the premiere of "The Boss Baby" at AMC Loews Lincoln Square on Monday, March 20, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M, Oct. 23, 2021, used for the film "Rust." (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - Director Joel Souza testifies in the trial against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in state district court in Santa Fe, N.M., on Friday, March 1, 2024. Gutierrez-Reed was working as the armorer on the movie "Rust" when actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded Souza. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal via AP, Pool/File)
FILE - Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed stands by her defense team during her involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M. A jury convicted Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter on March 6, 2024, in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal on the set of the Western movie "Rust." (Jim Weber/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool, File)
Baldwin was charged with felony involuntary manslaughter and faced up to 18 months in prison if convicted
Baldwin, the star and co-producer of the Western, was pointing a revolver at Hutchins during a rehearsal in a small church on the movie set at Bonanza Creek Ranch in October 2021 when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the gun fired.
It has never been officially determined who brought the live rounds that killed Hutchins on to the set. Prosecutors at the previous trial of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed said she was responsible. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to the same 18 months in prison Baldwin faced.
Prosecutors had two alternative standards for proving the charge. One is based on the negligent use of a firearm. The other is proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Baldwin acted with total disregard or indifference for the safety of others.
Despite the legal and technical complexities of the case, the 12 citizens of Santa Fe County would have hadto reach just one verdict — guilty or not guilty — on a single count.
The trial at the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico — about 20 miles northeast of the movie set and the shooting — was projected to last nine days. It ended on its fourth day.
Baldwin, 66, emerged as a major movie star in the late 1980s and early ‘90s through films like “Beetlejuice” and “The Hunt for Red October,” and has remained a household name ever since. He would move on to memorable supporting roles in films including 2003’s “The Cooler,” which got him an Oscar nomination. Comedy dominated his later career as he won two Emmys for playing network executive Jack Donaghy on six seasons of “30 Rock,” and won a third for playing Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live.”
He has also played the role of outsized public personality, as a cherished talk-show guest, a sought-after liberal, and at times as a man unable to control his outbursts of anger, which have brought public embarrassment and a previous run-in with the law much more minor than the current one.
Baldwin is the eldest of six children — five of them actors — from Massapequa, New York, who has lived in New York City for most of his adult life. He has an adult daughter, Ireland Baldwin, with his first wife Kim Basinger, and seven small children with his second wife, Hilaria Baldwin.
Santa Fe, New Mexico's capital, an arts mecca of 89,000 people and a tourist destination for its historic Southwestern beauty, is no small town. And its downtown modern legal complex is hardly a country courthouse. But the location is still a far cry from the coastal urban courts where the celebrity trials of Bill Cosby, O.J. Simpson, Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump were held.
The proceedings could make for an unusual scene. Scores of members of the national media will compete for seats in the Santa Fe courtroom and an overflow room, and cameras will surround the courthouse for arrivals and departures.
And the public can watch. The trial will be streamed and broadcast by several outlets including Court TV.
Hutchins, who was 42 when she died, was a cinematographer on the rise and a mother of a young son when she was killed. She grew up on a remote Soviet military base and worked on documentary films in Eastern Europe before studying film in Los Angeles and embarking on a promising movie-making career.
For more coverage of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/alec-baldwin
Actor Alec Baldwin reacts during his trial for involuntary manslaughter for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of the Western movie "Rust," Friday, July 12, 2024, at Santa Fe County District Court in Santa Fe, N.M. The judge threw out the case against Baldwin in the middle of his trial and said it cannot be filed again. (Ramsay de Give/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - A musician plays a violin behind a photograph of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a vigil in her honor in Albuquerque, N.M., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. A New Mexico judge is considering an array of restrictions on evidence, testimony and arguments ahead of a trial for Alec Baldwin. The Monday, July 8, 2024, pretrial hearing sets the stage for Baldwin to appear in court this week on a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a cinematographer. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
FILE - In this image taken from video released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, Alec Baldwin speaks with investigators following a fatal shooting on a movie set in Santa Fe, N.M. A New Mexico judge is considering an array of restrictions on evidence, testimony and arguments ahead of a trial for Alec Baldwin. The Monday, July 8, 2024, pretrial hearing sets the stage for Baldwin to appear in court this week on a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a cinematographer. (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
FILE - Actor Alec Baldwin attends the premiere of "The Boss Baby" at AMC Loews Lincoln Square on Monday, March 20, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M, Oct. 23, 2021, used for the film "Rust." (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - Director Joel Souza testifies in the trial against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in state district court in Santa Fe, N.M., on Friday, March 1, 2024. Gutierrez-Reed was working as the armorer on the movie "Rust" when actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded Souza. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal via AP, Pool/File)
FILE - Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed stands by her defense team during her involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M. A jury convicted Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter on March 6, 2024, in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal on the set of the Western movie "Rust." (Jim Weber/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Monday named a veteran agent to serve as acting FBI director after the official who'd been expected to run the bureau on an interim basis following the departure of Christopher Wray retired after nearly 30 years.
Brian Driscoll was tapped to lead the FBI pending the Senate confirmation of Kash Patel, who is President Donald Trump's pick for director. The move came hours after Paul Abbate, who served for the last four years as Wray's deputy and had been in line to serve as acting director, told colleagues in an email that he was retiring.
"When the Director asked me to stay on past my mandatory date for a brief time, I did so to help ensure continuity and the best transition for the FBI. Now, with new leadership inbound, after nearly four years in the deputy role, I am departing the FBI today,” Abbate wrote in the email, which was obtained by The Associated Press.
Abbate's abrupt departure after a 28-year FBI career creates additional transition for a law enforcement agency that had already been preparing for upheaval in the event Patel is confirmed. A Trump loyalist, Patel has repeatedly criticized FBI leadership and decision-making and has alarmed Democrats with statements that suggest he would be willing to use the FBI to exact retribution on Trump adversaries.
Abbate's email did not identify who might succeed him, but the White House included Driscoll on a list of officials being tapped to lead agencies on an acting basis. Driscoll was named by Wray last week as special agent in charge of the Newark field office and before that had served as commander of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team.
“We will work closely with the current FBI leadership team and the transition team at the Department of Justice to serve as a bridge between the FBI’s previous permanent leadership team and the next one,” Driscoll wrote in an email to colleagues. “In the meantime, our goal is to keep the focus on the Bureau’s essential work, those we do the work with, and those we do the work for — the American people.”
He said Robert Kissane, a top counterterrorism official in the New York office, will serve as acting deputy director.
Wray's final day was Sunday, making Abbate acting director, though he only stayed in the role for a day.
Abbate held a variety of leadership roles in his nearly three-decade career at the FBI, including head of the bureau's Detroit and Washington field offices and executive assistant director for the criminal, cyber, response and services branch. He was named deputy director, the No. 2 position responsible for the FBI's investigative activities, in 2021.
“As you move forward, continue to stay true to our core values, be there for our partners, and take care of those who serve alongside you. Thank you for your service,” Abbate wrote.
Wray was named by Trump during his first term and had been director for more than seven years. Wray announced his retirement last month, more than a week after Trump said he wanted Patel to be the director.
FILE - Paul Abbate, Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), testifies during a Senate Judiciary Oversight Committee hearing to examine Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and related surveillance authorities, June 13, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be the director of the FBI, poses for a photo with Cabinet picks, other nominees and appointments, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a farewell ceremony for Attorney General Merrick Garland at the Department of Justice, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)