Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty over killing of Rust cinematographer

Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust.

The 65-year-old filed a waiver of arraignment on Wednesday opting to plead not guilty a day before a scheduled court appearance in the First Judicial District Court of Santa Fe, New Mexico, which will now not take place.

In court documents, the US actor said: “I plead not guilty to all of the charges in the complaint or citation.”

Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer of the film, was pointing a gun at Ms Hutchins during a rehearsal in October 2021 when the weapon went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.

The actor has said he pulled back the hammer, but not the trigger, and the gun fired.

He was initially charged in January last year but those charges were formally dismissed three months later.

Earlier in January 2024, special prosecutors brought the case before a grand jury in Santa Fe after receiving a new analysis of the gun, and Baldwin was re-charged.

Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film’s armourer, has previously pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering and is set to go on trial on February 21.

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