Alec Baldwin Suing New Mexico Prosecutors Over Dropped Rust Case

Alec Baldwin is ready to go back to court over Rust. The actor filed a lawsuit accusing New Mexico prosecutors and investigators of “malicious prosecution” over the dismissed manslaughter case against him, the New York Times reports. Baldwin claims prosecutors attempted to “manufacture” a case against him, arguing the evidence issues in the manslaughter case amounted to a violation of his rights. The trial over Baldwin’s on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins had begun last July when a witness revealed evidence about ammunition that had not been disclosed to Baldwin’s attorneys. The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it could not be retried, saying at the time, “There is no way for the court to right this wrong.”

Prosecutors have long defended their case against Baldwin, but in December, special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey withdrew an appeal of the case. At the time, she blamed a lack of support from the state attorney general’s office. Morrissey previously conceded that the evidence was withheld but argued it was not essential to Baldwin’s team. “We look forward to our day in court,” she told the Times of Baldwin’s lawsuit.

Baldwin, who has long said the shooting was accidental, is accusing prosecutors and investigators of following a shaky case against him based on “personal agendas or professional ambitions.” “Defendants must now be held accountable for their malicious and unlawful pursuit of Baldwin,” his attorneys wrote. “Although no verdict in this civil case can undo the trauma the state’s threat of conviction and incarceration has inflicted, Alec Baldwin has filed this action to hold defendants responsible for their appalling violations of the laws that governed their work.”

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