Alec Baldwin breaks silence with social media post after ‘Rust’ case dismissal
Alec Baldwin has broken his silence with a new social media post, following the dismissal of the ‘Rust’ case in court.
On Friday (July 12), New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer declared to the Santa Fe court the dismissal of the case – it involved an incident on October 21, 2021 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot and director Joel Souza was injured on the set of the film ‘Rust’. A live round had been discharged from a revolver that was used as a prop by Baldwin.
Yesterday (July 13), Baldwin took to Instagram to issue a message of gratitude to friends and fans for their support through the investigation.
“There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now,” he writes. “To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family.”
Some of the comments applauding Baldwin include ones posted by celebrity friends, like Jeremy Renner (“Bless you sir. 
”) and Ricky Martin (“Stay strong. 
so happy for you and the family”).
The case against Alec Baldwin over the ill-fated incident on the set of ‘Rust’ was dismissed over “critical” bullet evidence, which the judge ruled was withheld from the court.
“The state has repeatedly made representations to defense and to the court that they were compliant with all their discovery obligations,” she said, as reported by Deadline.
“Despite their repeated representations, they have continued to fail to disclose critical evidence to the defendant.” Baldwin was seen breaking down in tears at the announcement of the ruling.
This ruling came after Baldwin’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that prosecutors deliberately hid bullets that were turned over to investigators in March, which they claimed are relevant to the case. The motion, filed on Thursday (July 11) per Deadline, alleged that the state’s investigation into the case was “biased, improperly motivated, and incompetent” and that state officials “misrepresented the evidence that it had collected”.
In January, SAG-AFTRA issued a statement defending Baldwin’s role in Hutchins’ death. “An actor’s job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert,” the union said. “Performers train to perform, and they are not required or expected to be experts on guns or experienced in their use. The industry assigns that responsibility to qualified professionals who oversee their use and handling in every aspect.”
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 26, who had served as an armourer on the film, had been on trial charged with involuntary manslaughter, to which she pled not guilty. In March, the jury convicted her, but found her not guilty of tampering with evidence. Deadline also reports that the ruling might also mean the release of Gutierrez-Reed.
The post Alec Baldwin breaks silence with social media post after ‘Rust’ case dismissal appeared first on NME.
Daniel Peters
NME
