Free Republic

Alec Baldwin has been allowed to skip the preliminary hearing in the “Rust” shooting case, a judge has ruled. Baldwin was due to appear in court for the two-week preliminary hearing, set to kick off on May 3. The hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western flick, “Rust.” Hutchins, 42, was fatally shot on the movie set outside Sante Fe, N.M., on Oct. 21, 2021, after Baldwin’s prop gun discharged a live round and struck her in the chest....

A New Mexico prosecutor on Thursday charged actor Alec Baldwin and others in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of Western “Rust.” District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin and the film’s armorer after more than a year of investigation into the October 2021 shooting on a film set outside Santa Fe. Assistant director David Halls has signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, the prosecutor said in a statement. “After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico,...