Alec Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter after initial charge dropped over movie set shooting

Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter over the shooting on the set of his movie near Santa Fe, New Mexico, in Oct. 2021.

A grand jury indicted Baldwin after previous charges were dropped in April.

Prosecutors said they received a new analysis from the gun fired in the shooting and those led to the new charge against Baldwin. That analysis said that the trigger must have been pulled or depressed to fire the weapon, which contradicts Baldwin's claim.

"The trigger wasn't pulled. I didn't pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at someone and pull the trigger on them, never," said Baldwin in his first public interview after the shooting.

The gunshot wounded and killed Halyna Hutchins, a 42-year-old cinematographer who was working on the movie. Director Joel Souza, 48, was also wounded but only superficially. Baldwin was the lead actor on the "Rust" movie, as well as a co-producer and writer.

Investigators said in Oct. 2021 that a crew member had told them he had failed to check all of the rounds in the gun before it was handed to the actor to rehearse the scene.

"The facts are clear – a weapon was handed to Mr. Baldwin, the weapon is functional and fired a live round killing Ms. Hutchins and injuring Mr. Souza," said Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza.

An involuntary manslaughter charge in New Mexico could result in a sentence of up to 18 months in prison.

Baldwin has been very vocal about his left-wing political leanings and his hatred for former President Donald Trump, whom he portrayed often on "Saturday Night Live." The 65-year-old has also mocked and ridiculed various conservatives and others on the right via his social media accounts.

Here's more about the Baldwin indictment:

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