Actor Alec Baldwin has filed a civil lawsuit for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations in the legal proceedings that followed the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western movie “Rust.”
The lawsuit was filed yesterday at state district court in Santa Fe.
It’s the same court where a judge in July dismissed a charge of involuntary manslaughter against Baldwin in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin also alleges defamation in the suit, saying that prosecutors and investigators intentionally mishandled evidence as they pursued the case.
Defendants named in the lawsuit include special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, along with three investigators from the Santa Fe County sheriff's office and the county board of commissioners.
The suit states, "Defendants sought at every turn to scapegoat Baldwin for the acts and omissions of others, regardless of the evidence or the law."
It also says prosecutors and investigators targeted Baldwin for professional or political gain.
Carmack-Altwies and the Santa Fe sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to Associated Press requests for comment.
Baldwin's lawsuit argues that prosecutors should not be afforded immunity in their official roles.
Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being wounded during a rehearsal for the movie “Rust” in October 2021 at a film-set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
This piece was adapted from an Associated Press story by Morgan Lee.
