SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin on Friday on an involuntary manslaughter charge in a 2021 fatal shooting during a rehearsal on a movie set in New Mexico, reviving a dormant case against the actor.

Special prosecutors brought the case before a grand jury in Santa Fe this week, months after receiving a new analysis of the gun that was used. They declined to answer questions after spending about a day and a half presenting their case to the grand jury.

Defense attorneys for Baldwin indicated they’ll fight the charge.

“We look forward to our day in court,” said Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, defense attorneys for Baldwin, in an email.

While the proceeding is shrouded in secrecy, two of the witnesses seen at the courthouse included crew members — one who was present when the fatal shot was fired and another who had walked off the set the day before due to safety concerns.

Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on the Western movie “Rust,” was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.

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

The charge has again put Baldwin in legal trouble and created the possibility of prison time for an actor who has been a TV and movie mainstay for nearly 40 years, with roles in the early blockbuster “The Hunt for Red October,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” and the sitcom “30 Rock.”

The indictment provides prosecutors with two alternative standards for pursuing an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in the death of Hutchins. One would be based on negligent use of a firearm, and the other alleges felony misconduct “with the total disregard or indifference for the safety of others.”

Judges recently agreed to put on hold several civil lawsuits seeking compensation from Baldwin and producers of “Rust” after prosecutors said they would present their case to a grand jury. Plaintiffs in those suits include members of the film crew.

Los Angeles-based attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing the slain cinematographer’s parents and younger sister in a civil case, said Friday that her clients have been seeking the truth about what happened the day Hutchins was killed and will be looking forward to Baldwin’s trial.

Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of the West Coast Trial Lawyers firm in Los Angeles, pointed to previous missteps by prosecutors, saying they will need to do more than present ballistics evidence to make a case that Baldwin had a broader responsibility and legal duty when it came to handling the gun on the set.

Special prosecutors dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. They later pivoted and began weighing whether to refile a charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun.

The analysis from experts in ballistics and forensic testing relied on replacement parts to reassemble the gun fired by Baldwin, after parts of the pistol were broken during testing by the FBI. The report examined the gun and markings it left on a spent cartridge to conclude that the trigger had to have been pulled or depressed.

The analysis led by Lucien Haag of Forensic Science Services in Arizona stated that although Baldwin repeatedly denied pulling the trigger, “given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”

The weapons supervisor on the movie set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the case. Her trial is scheduled to begin in February.

“Rust” assistant director and safety coordinator David Halls pleaded no contest to unsafe handling of a firearm last March and received a suspended sentence of six months of probation. He agreed to cooperate in the investigation of the shooting.

An earlier FBI report on the agency’s analysis of the gun found that, as is common with firearms of that design, it could go off without pulling the trigger if force was applied to an uncocked hammer, such as by dropping the weapon.

The only way the testers could get it to fire was by striking the gun with a mallet while the hammer was down and resting on the cartridge, or by pulling the trigger while it was fully cocked. The gun eventually broke during testing.

The 2021 shooting resulted in a series of civil lawsuits, including wrongful death claims filed by members of Hutchins’ family, centered on accusations that the defendants were lax with safety standards. Baldwin and other defendants have disputed those allegations.

The Rust Movie Productions company has paid a $100,000 fine to state workplace safety regulators after a scathing narrative of failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set before the fatal shooting.

The filming of “Rust” resumed last year in Montana, under an agreement with the cinematographer’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, that made him an executive producer.

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors in New Mexico plan to drop an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film “ Rust,” Baldwin’s attorneys said Thursday.

“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Baldwin’s attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in a statement.

When word of the dismissal came, Baldwin was at Yellowstone Film Ranch on the set of a rebooted “Rust” production. Filming was to resume Thursday at its new location in Montana, 18 months after the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins shut it down, a representative for Rust Movie Productions said.

Baldwin and the film’s weapons supervisor, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were both charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting.

Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins during a rehearsal when the gun when off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has said the gun went off accidentally and that he did not pull the trigger. An FBI forensic report found the weapon could not have fired unless the trigger was pulled.

Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the Santa Fe district attorney’s office, declined to comment on the status of the criminal charge against Baldwin when reached by telephone Thursday.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether charges could be refiled, nor whether the charge would also be dropped against Gutierrez-Reed.

Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys said that they “fully expect at the end of this process that Hannah will also be exonerated.”

“The truth about what happened will come out and the questions that we have long sought answers for will be answered,” the lawyers, Jason Bowles and Todd Bullion, said in a statement.

The case against Baldwin had already been diminishing. A weapons charge that would have meant a much longer sentence had already been dismissed, and the first special prosecutor appointed in the case resigned.

The charges against Baldwin had marked a stunning fall for an A-list actor whose 40-year career included the early blockbuster “The Hunt for Red October” and a starring role in the sitcom “30 Rock,” as well as iconic appearances in Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” and a film adaptation of David Mamet’s “Glengary Glen Ross.” In recent years, he was known for his impression of former President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live.”

The 65-year-old worked little since the shooting but hardly went into hiding. He stayed active on social media, making Instagram videos and posting picture of his wife and seven children.

“Rust” safety coordinator and assistant director David Halls pleaded no contest in March to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm and a suspended sentence of six months of probation.

Plans to resume filming were outlined last year by the cinematographer’s widower Matthew Hutchins in a proposed settlement to a wrongful death lawsuit that would make him an executive producer. Souza has said he will return to directing “Rust” production to honor the legacy of Halyna Hutchins.

Despite the settlement, attorneys for the Hutchins family said they welcomed the criminal charges against Baldwin when they were filed. They had no immediate comment on the pending dismissal Thursday.

After a scathing safety review by regulators in New Mexico that detailed ignored complaints and misfires before Hutchins’ death in October of 2021, the production company agreed to pay a $100,000 fine.

Baldwin had yet to even travel to New Mexico for a court appearance, and none had been required of him under state law. Evidentiary hearings had been scheduled for next month to determine whether to proceed toward trial.

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies had said previously that her office is pursuing justice in the death of Hutchins and wants to show that no one is above the law when it comes to firearms and public safety. She says the Ukrainian-born cinematographer’s death was tragic and preventable.

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A judge has agreed to seal from public view the terms of a proposed settlement agreement that benefits the son of slain cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, in a wrongful death lawsuit against actor Alec Baldwin and an array of producers and crew involved linked to Hutchins’ death in a fatal filmset shooting.

The New Mexico judge cited privacy concerns about Halyna’s 10-year-old son, Andros Hutchins.

Baldwin, an actor and film coproducer, was pointing a pistol at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza, on the set of the Western movie “Rust” during a movie rehearsal on the outskirts of Santa Fe in 2021.

Widower Matthew Hutchins filed the wrongful death suit last year against “Rust” producers, including Baldwin, as well as members of the film crew with safety responsibilities and an ammunition supplier. Son Andros Hutchins, who was 9 at the time of the shooting, is also named as a plaintiff.

Attorneys for they boy said Monday that secrecy provisions are paramount to protect the boy’s privacy and finalize a settlement with “Rust” producers.

At least five other civil lawsuits related to Halyna Hutchins’ death are pending in courts. Plaintiffs in those cases asked for the hearings to remain open. They worried about unforeseen consequences if the agreement were to collapse, and implications for insurance payments in other lawsuits.

But the judge agreed that the privacy rights of the boy outweighed court obligations for public disclosure, and ordered that the settlement documents and approval hearings be sealed.

“What is driving my decision is really the interests of the minor child. And that is one of the very most powerful reasons to seal a matter,” said District Court Judge Bryan Biedscheid, in a videoconference hearing of the Santa Fe-based court.

The civil lawsuit argues that Baldwin and other film crewmembers ignored industry gun safety rules on the set of “Rust.” Baldwin and other defendants have disputed those accusations.

Knowledge of the settlement terms also will be off limits to people beyond “Rust” producers who were named as defendants in the lawsuit, including weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Several of those defendants objected to being left in the dark on details of the settlement, though approval of the agreement should end their involvement in the wrongful death suit.

Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin are also confronting criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter in separate court proceedings and have pleaded not guilty, with two weeks of evidentiary hearings scheduled in May.

Widower Matthew Hutchins outlined a proposed settlement agreement in October that opened the way for filming to resume in Montana. He’ll serve as a producer.

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Defense attorneys for actor Alec Baldwin are seeking to disqualify the special prosecutor in the case against him stemming from the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set.

In a motion filed Tuesday in Santa Fe-based district court, Baldwin’s legal team said Andrea Reeb’s position as a state lawmaker prohibits her under state law from holding any authority in a judicial capacity.

Reeb is “exercising either the executive power or the judicial power, and her continued service as a special prosecutor is unconstitutional,” Baldwin’s team argued in the motion.

Reeb, a Republican, was elected to the state House of Representatives in November and started her term last month.

The office of Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies dismissed the idea that Reeb would be disqualified. In a statement, the office characterized the motion as nothing but a legal diversion.

“Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys can use whatever tactics they want to distract from the fact that Halyna Hutchins died because of gross negligence and a reckless disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set,” the office wrote in the statement.

Baldwin and film-set weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed are scheduled to make their first court appearance by video conference in late February. Both have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Hutchins died shortly after being wounded during rehearsals at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

A manslaughter charge can be brought if a defendant killed while doing something lawful but dangerous and was acting negligently or without caution.

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors linked Alec Baldwin to an expansive list of alleged failures in firearms safety as they filed a felony involuntary manslaughter charge Tuesday against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico movie set.

Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being wounded during rehearsals at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Baldwin and film-set weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed face charges of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Hutchins on the set of the Western movie “Rust.”

A manslaughter charge can be brought for a killing that occurs while a defendant is doing something lawful but dangerous and is acting negligently or without caution.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed maintain their innocence and have vowed to fight the charges.

In newly filed court documents, prosecutors say reckless safety failures accompanied the film production from the outset. They cite Baldwin’s failure as an actor to appear for mandatory firearms training prior to filming and his decision as a producer to work with Gutierrez-Reed, who was an uncertified and inexperienced armorer.

A probable cause statement from investigators traces safety failures across a 10-day period from misfires on set and a camera crew walkout to the moments before Hutchins’ death as a revolver was loaded with ammunition and Baldwin’s finger came to rest on the pistol’s trigger.

“Baldwin’s deviation from known standards, practices and protocol directly caused the fatal death of Hutchins,” Robert Shilling, a special investigator for the Santa Fe district attorney’s office, said in the probable cause statement.

Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas declined to comment Tuesday and referred to a previous statement in which he called the charges a “terrible miscarriage of justice” that he and his client would fight and win.

“Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set,” the statement said. “He relied on the professionals with whom he worked.”

Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney said they would release a statement later.

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told The Associated Press in a Jan. 19 interview that the set was “really being run pretty fast and loose” and Baldwin should have known there were previous misfires on the set and multiple people had brought up safety concerns. She also highlighted Baldwin as the person “that held the gun, that pointed the gun and that pulled the trigger.”

With charges filed on Tuesday, Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be issued a summons to appear in court, possibly by remote webcast. Prosecutors will forgo a grand jury and rely on a judge to determine if there is sufficient evidence to move toward trial. A decision could take up to 60 days.

The manslaughter charges against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed include two alternative standards and sanctions.

One version would require proof of negligence, which is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine under New Mexico law.

The second alternative is reckless disregard of safety “without due caution and circumspection.” It carries a higher threshold of wrongdoing and includes a “firearm enhancement” that could result in a mandatory five years in prison because the offense was committed with a gun.

A jury may decide which definition of manslaughter to pursue, prosecutors said.

Defense litigator Kate Mangels, whose work includes the entertainment sector, said prosecutors submitted a robust analysis of Baldwin’s safety responsibilities as actor and producer on “Rust.”

“The fact that they separated out Alec Baldwin the actor versus Alec Baldwin the producer shows to me that they’re potentially foreseeing a challenge to his culpability as to either of those roles,” said Mangles, who is based in Santa Monica, California. “So they want to differentiate … and provide a robust analysis of both of those separately.”

Investigators said reckless safety failures culminated when Baldwin drew a revolver from a holster, pointed it at Hutchins and fired the weapon when a plastic or replica gun should have been used by industry standards.

Photos and videos of the rehearsal, including moments before the deadly shooting, showed Baldwin with his finger inside the trigger guard and on the trigger while “manipulating” the pistol’s hammer, investigators said, noting that an FBI analysis shows the pistol could not be fired without pressing the trigger.

Baldwin, who has described the killing as a tragic accident, said he was told the .45-caliber revolver was safe. The 64-year-old actor has sought to clear his name by suing people involved in handling and supplying the loaded gun.

Baldwin said in his lawsuit that, while working on camera angles with Hutchins, he pointed the gun in her direction and pulled back and released the hammer of the weapon, which discharged.

Defense attorney Jason Bowles, who represents Gutierrez-Reed, said the charges are the result of a “flawed investigation” and an “inaccurate understanding of the full facts.”

The decision to charge Baldwin marks a stunning turn of events for an A-list actor whose 40-year career included the early blockbuster “The Hunt for Red October” and a starring role in the sitcom “30 Rock,” as well as iconic appearances in Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” and a film adaptation of David Mamet’s “Glengary Glen Ross.” In recent years, Baldwin was known for his impression of former President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live.”

Prosecutors said a proposed plea agreement signed by assistant director David Halls, who oversaw safety on set, has not yet been approved by a judge and cannot be published.

Halls had agreed to plead guilty in the negligent use of a deadly weapon, explaining that he may have handled the gun improperly before it was given to Baldwin, prosecutors said.

___

AP Entertainment writer Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Santa Fe district attorney will announce Thursday whether charges will be brought in the fatal 2021 film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal of the Western “Rust.”

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said a decision will be announced Thursday morning in a statement and on social media, without public appearances by prosecutors.

“The announcement will be a solemn occasion, made in a manner keeping with the office’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the judicial process and respecting the victim’s family,” said Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being wounded by a gunshot during setup for a scene at the ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who led the initial investigation into Hutchins’ death, described “a degree of neglect” on the film set. But he left decisions about potential criminal charges to prosecutors after delivering the results of a yearlong investigation in October. That report did not specify how live ammunition wound up on the film set.

Taking control of the investigation, Carmack-Altwies was granted an emergency $300,000 request for the state to pay for a special prosecutor, special investigator and other experts and personnel.

Baldwin — known for his roles in “30 Rock” and “The Hunt for Red October” and his impression of former President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live” — has described the killing of Hutchins as a “tragic accident.”

He has sought to clear his name by suing people involved in handling and supplying the loaded gun that was handed to him on set. Baldwin, also a co-producer on “Rust,” said he was told the gun was safe.

In his lawsuit, Baldwin said that while working on camera angles with Hutchins during rehearsal for a scene, he pointed the gun in her direction and pulled back and released the hammer of the gun, which discharged.

New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator determined the shooting was an accident following the completion of an autopsy and a review of law enforcement reports.

New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau has levied the maximum fine against Rust Movie Productions, based on a scathing narrative of safety failures, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires of blank ammunition on set prior to the fatal shooting.

Rust Movie Productions continues to challenge the basis of a $137,000 fine by regulators who say production managers on the set failed to follow standard industry protocols for firearms safety.

The armorer who oversaw firearms on the set, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, has been the subject of much of the scrutiny in the case, along with an independent ammunition supplier. An attorney for Gutierrez Reed has said the armorer did not put a live round in the gun that killed Hutchins, and believes she was the victim of sabotage. Authorities said they’ve found no evidence of that.

Investigators initially found 500 rounds of ammunition at the movie set on the outskirts of Santa Fe — a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what appeared to be live rounds. Industry experts have said live rounds should never be on set.

In April 2022, the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department released a trove of files including lapel camera video of the mortally wounded Hutchins slipping in and out of consciousness as an evacuation helicopter arrived. Witness interrogations, email threads, text conversations, inventories of ammunition and hundreds of photographs rounded out that collection of evidence.

State workplace safety regulators said that immediate gun-safety concerns were addressed when “Rust” ceased filming, and that a return to filming in New Mexico would be accompanied by new safety inspections.

The family of Hutchins — widower Matthew Hutchins and son Andros — settled a lawsuit against producers under an agreement that aims to restart filming with Matthew’s involvement as executive producer.

“Rust” was beset by disputes from the start in early October 2021. Seven crew members walked off the set just hours before the fatal shooting amid discord over working conditions.

Hutchins’ death has influenced negotiations over safety provisions in film crew union contracts with Hollywood producers and spurred other filmmakers to choose computer-generated imagery of gunfire rather than real weapons with blank ammunition to minimize risks.

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico workplace safety regulators on Wednesday issued the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of “Rust” where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in October.

New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau said Rust Movie Productions must pay $136,793, and distributed a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set prior to the fatal shooting. The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.

“What we had, based on our investigators’ findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and management’s failure to act upon those obvious hazards,” Bob Genoway, bureau chief for occupational safety, told The Associated Press.

At a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins inside a small church during setup for the filming of a scene when it went off, killing Hutchins and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction on the New Mexico set of the Western film when it went off without his pulling the trigger.

The new occupational safety report confirms that a large-caliber revolver was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director, David Halls, without consulting with on-set weapons specialists during or after the gun was loaded. Regulators note that Halls also served as safety coordinator and that he was present and witnessed two accidental discharges of rifles on set, and that he and other managers who knew of the misfires took no investigative, corrective or disciplinary action. Crew members expressed surprise and discomfort.

“The Safety Coordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns,” the report states. “Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so. As a result of these failures, Director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were severely injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries.”

Rust Movie Productions said through a spokesperson that it would dispute the findings and sanction.

“While we appreciate OSHA’s time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal,” said Stefan Friedman. Any appeal would be heard initially by the state’s occupational health and safety commission.

Baldwin issued a statement from his attorney, asserting that the safety investigation “exonerates Mr. Baldwin.”

An attorney for Halls was not immediately available.

The state fine applies to a film with a budget of about $7 million. Baldwin was assigned a salary of $250,000 as an actor and producer and may have put some of that money back into the production.

At least five lawsuits have been filed over the shooting, including a wrongful death suit brought by Hutchins’ family against Baldwin and the movie’s other producers. The lawsuit on behalf of widower Matt Hutchins and his 9-year-old son alleges a “callous” disregard in the face of safety complaints on the set.

James Kenney, secretary of the Environment Department that oversees occupational safety, said the agency dedicated 1,500 staff hours to its investigation, examined hundreds of documents and conducted at least a dozen interviews with cast and crew members.

Investigators found production managers placed tight limits on resources for a small team that controlled weapons on set and failed to address concerns about a shotgun left unattended twice.

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the daughter of a sharpshooter and consultant to film productions, was limited to eight paid days as an armorer to oversee weapons and training, and was assigned otherwise to lighter duties as a props assistant. As her time as an armorer ran out, Gutierrez Reed warned a manager and was rebuffed.

Gutierrez Reed is both a plaintiff and a defendant in lawsuits seeking damages in the fatal shooting. In a statement Wednesday, her attorney highlighted findings that the armorer “was not provided adequate time or resources to conduct her job effectively.”

Safety investigators also note that the production company did not develop a process to ensure live rounds of ammunition were not brought on set, in violation of industry safety protocols. Safety meetings were conducted, but not every day weapons were used, as required.

Kenney said the separate investigations into possible criminal charges are still underway. The Santa Fe County sheriff and local prosecutors had no immediate comment.

Kenney said his agency received no direct safety complaints from cast or crew prior to the fatal shooting, even though anonymity is offered.

“This tragedy, this loss of life, it could have been prevented, and we want people to say something,” he said.

Kenney was appointed in 2019 by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a staunch advocate for the film industry who increased a state cap in industry incentives shortly after taking office.

New Mexico competes with non-Hollywood production sites in states such as Georgia, Louisiana and New York. Film productions have flocked to New Mexico in recent years to seize on its diverse outdoor scenery, moderate costs and generous state incentives, including a rebate of between 25% and 35% of in-state spending for video production that helps filmmakers large and small underwrite their work.

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Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Juan Rios said Baldwin’s phone was turned over Friday to law enforcement officials in Suffolk County, New York, who will gather the information from the phone and provide it to Santa Fe County investigators, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

Sheriff’s office investigators in December obtained a search warrant for the phone’s contents in their investigation into the Oct. 21 shooting on the “Rust” film set at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe.

Baldwin was an actor and co-producer, and the search warrant for his phone sought text messages, images, videos, calls or any other information related to the movie.

Authorities have said Baldwin’s prop revolver discharged a live round during a rehearsal, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin’s lawyer, Aaron Dyer, said his client had been cooperating with authorities throughout the course of the investigation, and the delay in providing information from the phone was no indication otherwise.

“Alec voluntarily provided his phone to the authorities this morning so they can finish their investigation,” Dyer said Friday in a statement. “But this matter isn’t about his phone, and there are no answers on his phone.”

Baldwin, who has denied any wrongdoing in the shooting, and said in an Instagram message on Jan. 8 that New Mexico needed to go through New York law enforcement and that the process of specifying exactly what is needed took time.

“They can’t just go through your phone and take your photos, or your love letters to your wife, or what have you,” he said.

Baldwin has said he didn’t know the gun he was holding contained a live round when it went off. Investigators are trying to find the source of the live round.

No charges have been filed in the shooting.

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The key events in both cases are remarkably similar. In both cases, a human being was accidentally shot and killed with a firearm. The facts in both cases are undisputed. Both Kim Potter and Alec Baldwin shot and killed another person. In neither case did the shooters intend to kill anyone. But the totality of circumstances would indicate completely different treatments needed for actual “justice.” The circumstances leading up to and following those incidents reveal just how corrupt our criminal justice system has become.

On April 11, 2021, Kim Potter was one of several police officers attempting to arrest Daunte Wright on an outstanding warrant for a firearms violation. He was also alleged to be in violation of a restraining order. Wright attempted to flee the scene in his car with a female passenger — otherwise known as a hostage. Officers wrestled with Wright to prevent him from fleeing. Officer Potter eventually pulled her service weapon and shot and killed Daunte Wright. She immediately admitted that she had made a mistake, as she had intended to tase him instead.

Within three days of the shooting, Kim Potter was indicted for 2nd-degree manslaughter. A month later, the case was taken over by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. That would be the same Keith Ellison with past associations with the Nation of Islam, and the Vice Lords gang. The Vice Lords were responsible for the execution-style killing of Minneapolis police officer Jerry Haaf in 1992. Ellison also worked with Vice Lords leader Sharif Willis, who was also implicated in the Haaf killing, to orchestrate antipolice protests. Ellison is now the top law enforcement official in Minnesota. He upgraded the charges against Potter to 1st-degree manslaughter.

Given his background, is it any surprise that Ellison would use the power of his office to go after a cop? Just as a bit of background, Keith Ellison also led the prosecution of Derek Chauvin after the George Floyd death. Is it possible that the races of these particular victims might support some narrative that Ellison is promoting? Should that be a consideration in charging decisions? Does anyone doubt that it was?

Potter went to trial in December of 2021. The judge failed to inform the jury that manslaughter in Minnesota requires the defendant to intentionally create circumstances of negligence. Without that intent, the incident is only an accident — for which civil, not criminal liability applies. The jury convicted Kim Potter on all counts.

On October 21, 2021, Alec Baldwin was preparing to shoot a scene for his new movie Rust. He was both the lead actor and the producer, making him responsible for various aspects of management on the set.

As he sat quietly in a church pew on the set, he drew a revolver for practice, pointed it at the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and fired the weapon killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza. Apparently, unbeknownst to anyone, the revolver was loaded.

After the incident, it was learned that there had been several accidental discharges of firearms on the set. Some crew members had quit, due to lax gun safety. Others were frequently using the revolver in question for target shooting during breaks. The totality of circumstances was such that the probability of an “accident” was near its maximum — and everyone had been forewarned.

The Baldwin shooting is still under investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department. But that hasn’t stopped Baldwin from taking his story on the road. He even sat for an hour-long interview with George Stephanopoulos, in which he proclaimed that he felt no guilt over the incident because he hadn’t done anything wrong. He claims he had no duty to ensure the safety of the gun he was holding in his own hand. He was just practicing with a weapon that his staff had declared safe. It was their fault, not his. He was only the shooter.

In both incidents, people were accidentally shot and killed. In one incident, the shooting occurred while the victim was wrestling with police officers and attempting to flee with a hostage. The use of deadly force would have been justified. But because Potter meant to tase him instead, she was tried and convicted of manslaughter.

In the other incident, the victim was killed while the shooter was sitting, under no stress, in a church, playing with a loaded gun that hadn’t been checked. Nobody has questioned Baldwin’s intent. But he violated every safety rule prescribed by the gun and filmmaking industries, pointed a loaded weapon at another human being, and fired it.

I’m not saying that the Santa Fe Sheriff should rush their investigation of the Hutchins shooting. I want them to do a thorough and complete investigation. I am saying that there was a rush to bring the power of the state to bear against Kim Potter — simply because she was a police officer. And this rush to judgment was made by the same people that have tacitly supported the defund the police movement. It was about politics, not justice. Kim Potter was just the egg that had to be broken for the omelet.

In the heat of wrestling with a known thug, Potter’s first instinct was to spare his life. Only an accident prevented her from doing so. She then immediately admitted her error. Baldwin’s first instinct has been to blame everyone but himself for his mistake — showing no remorse or acceptance of culpability. Can anyone claim that justice has been factored into the treatment of the two cases?

Isn’t Kim Potter precisely the kind of cop we want on the force? Yet she’s going to prison because she’s also human. Will sending her to prison for an accident help us get more good cops or more ill-suited cops? Will the public benefit from her incarceration, or suffer? Is this anyone’s definition of justice, other than the radicals of the left?

Cases such as Potter’s are exactly why prosecutors are granted prosecutorial discretion — so that they may factor justice into their charging decisions based on the totality of circumstances. But when radicals are elected into top law enforcement positions (looking at you, Keith Ellison), that discretion is used for the opposite of justice.

Now, Kim Potter is going to jail, and Alec Baldwin will probably be stumping for more gun control. How’s that for justice?

Episodes such as this reflect our social values. We value actors enough to cut them a little slack. Cops, not so much. But then the police only keep us safe. The actors entertain us.

John Green | COLUMNIST

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities pursued new leads Tuesday on possible sources of live ammunition involved in actor Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the New Mexico set of a western movie, as they searched the premises of an Albuquerque-based firearms and ammunition supplier.

The search took place after a provider of firearms and ammunition to the ill fated movie production for “Rust” told investigators that he “may know” where live rounds came from, describing ammunition he received from a friend in the past that had been “reloaded” by assembly from parts.

A revolver fired by Baldwin during a “Rust” rehearsal on Oct. 21 killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and left a projectile lodged in the shoulder of director Joel Souza, for doctors later to remove. Baldwin was told the revolver was “cold” and had no live rounds, investigators say.

Seth Kenney and his business PDQ Arm & Prop provided movie-prop ammunition and weapons to the “Rust” production. Kenney told a detective on Oct. 29 that “a couple years back, he received ‘reloaded ammunition’ from a friend,” and that the ammunition stood out in his memory because of a star-shaped company logo, according to an affidavit from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office that is leading the investigation.

Kenney could not be reached independently for comment. A sheriff’s office spokesman declined to elaborate on details in the search warrant.

Investigators initially found 500 rounds of ammunition at the movie set on the outskirts of Santa Fe — a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what appeared to be live rounds. Industry experts have said live rounds should never be on set.

Investigators have described “some complacency” in how weapons were handled on the “Rust” set. They have said it is too soon to determine whether charges will be filed, amid independent civil lawsuits concerning liability in the fatal shooting.

Tuesday’s search-warrant affidavit contains some new details about the handling and loading of the gun that killed Hutchins before it was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director.

Investigators say that the armorer on the film, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, loaded the gun with five dummy rounds on Oct. 21, but struggled to add a sixth round before a lunch break, when the revolver was locked in a truck. The final round was added after lunch when the gun was cleaned.

Gutierrez Reed “stated the guns were checked on set, however she ‘didn’t really check it too much’ (the firearm), due to it being locked up at lunch,” according to the new affidavit.

Another movie crew member — the prop master for “Rust” — told investigators that ammunition was purchased from at least three sources for the production.

Jason Bowles, an attorney for Gutierrez Reed, called the search for evidence in Albuquerque a huge step forward toward determining the source of ammunition on the “Rust” set.

Investigators also described conversations with Gutierrez Reed’s father — sharpshooter and movie consultant Thell Reed, who isn’t listed as a participant on “Rust.”

Thell Reed said that prior to the “Rust” production he supplied Kenney with a can of live ammunition, during a firing-range training session for film actors. Reed said Kenney took a can of that ammunition back to New Mexico.

After the shooting, the prop master on the set shook a box of dummy rounds on the set for their characteristic rattle and said they did not rattle, possibly indicating live rounds.

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