---
title: "Alec Baldwin sues prosecutors, sheriff's officials over 'Rust' trial"
description: "Jan 9 (Reuters) - Alec Baldwin on Thursday sued New Mexico prosecutors and sheriff's office officials alleging a \"malicious\" prosecution against the actor over the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Western \"Rust.\""
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-01-10-alec-baldwin-sues-prosecutors-sheriffs-officials-over-rust-trial/"
published: "2025-01-10T04:12:39"
updated: "2025-01-10T04:12:41"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 424
---

# Alec Baldwin sues prosecutors, sheriff's officials over 'Rust' trial

> Jan 9 (Reuters) - Alec Baldwin on Thursday sued New Mexico prosecutors and sheriff's office officials alleging a "malicious" prosecution against the actor over the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Western "Rust."

By Reuters · Published 10 January 2025, 06:12 SAST · Updated 10 January 2025, 06:12 SAST

## Key points
- In a Hollywood saga that rivals any script, Alec Baldwin is now taking aim at prosecutors and sheriff's officials for allegedly playing fast and loose with evidence in the tragic shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, claiming malicious prosecution and demanding his day in court—because apparently, the drama just can't stop unfolding.
- Alec Baldwin files lawsuit alleging 'malicious' prosecution linked to 2021 shooting on movie set.
- Judge dismisses Baldwin's previous case, citing evidence withholding by prosecutors and sheriff's office.
- Lawsuit names several officials, including prosecutor Kari Morrissey and sheriff's office personnel.
- Baldwin seeks jury trial for damages, emphasizing claims of intentional spoliation of evidence and defamation.

## Content

- Lawsuit alleges 'malicious' prosecution for 2021 movie set shooting
- Judge dismissed Baldwin's case over withholding of evidence
- Prosecutors, officials, and evidence workers named in lawsuit

By Andrew Hay

The lawsuit filed in a Santa Fe court followed the dramatic dismissal of Baldwin's case during his July manslaughter trial in the New Mexico capital.

A judge ruled the special prosecutor and sheriff's office deliberately withheld evidence from Baldwin on the source of a live round that killed Hutchins.

Baldwin's action against prosecutor Kari Morrissey, Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office Corporal Alexandria Hancock and others is among at least a dozen civil lawsuits filed over Hutchins' death which shocked Hollywood and sparked calls for an overhaul of firearms safety on movie sets.

Baldwin’s lawyers Luke Nikas and Heather LeBlanc demanded a jury trial to seek damages for malicious abuse of process, intentional spoliation of evidence and defamation, among other complaints.

Morrissey said prosecutors had long known Baldwin planned to file a retaliatory civil lawsuit.

"We look forward to our day in court," she said in a text message.

The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Ukrainian-born cinematographer died when Baldwin pointed his pistol at her, cocked it and possibly pulled the trigger as they set up a camera shot on a movie set near Santa Fe, according to his lawyers.

The gun, a reproduction 1873 Single Action Army revolver, fired a live round inadvertently loaded by Hannah Gutierrez, the movie's weapons handler. Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

Baldwin's lawsuit focuses on the decision by Morrissey, Hancock, sheriff’s office crime scene technician Marissa Poppel and her supervisor Brian Brandle to file evidence on the source of live rounds under a different case number to the “Rust” case.

The incident came to light on the second day of Baldwin’s July trial.

A day later, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer tossed the case on grounds the officials’ “willful withholding of this information” from Baldwin came “so near to bad faith as to show signs of scorching prejudice.”

Other individuals named in the lawsuit include the first two special prosecutors on the case, New Mexico State Representative Andrea Reeb and New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies.

“Defendants must now be held accountable for their malicious and unlawful pursuit of Baldwin,” Baldwin's lawyers wrote in the filing.

Reeb and Carmack-Altwies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting By Andrew Hay; editing by Donna Bryson, Michael Perry, Diane Craft, and Christian Schmollinger)