Alec Baldwin has broken his silence after his case surrounding the Rust shooting was shockingly dismissed.
The actor was on trial for the death of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins, who was fatally shot on set in October 2021.
However, the charges were sensationally dropped on Friday after a New Mexico judge ruled that “errors were made in the handling” of some of the evidence.
Baldwin cried in the Santa Fe courtroom when the news was announced and has since spoken out on Instagram.
“There are too many people who have supported me to just say thank you now,” he wrote on Saturday.
Alec Baldwin has broken his silence after the shocking dismissal of his case over the Rust shooting
“To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness to my family.”
The extraordinary decision to throw out his trial came after a day-long hearing without a jury present, over bullets that were supposed to have been used as evidence.
Baldwin’s lawyers claimed the information was “hidden” from them and “buried” in another file.
The case had upended Baldwin’s trial, which had led him to plead not guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter after he was accused of negligence for accidentally firing a sharp object on set.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 26, the gunsmith on the set of Rust, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year.
Alec Baldwin burst into tears and hugged his wife Hilaria as his involuntary manslaughter case was sensationally dismissed
Matthew Hutchins, who was married to victim Halyna Hutchins (pictured with their son Andros) for 16 years, said in a statement after the shocking verdict that he looks forward to “holding Mr. Baldwin accountable for his actions.”
She was later sentenced to 18 months in prison, a sentence Baldwin would receive if found guilty.
Baldwin’s case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning prosecutors can no longer bring the same charges against him in this case and the lawsuit is permanently dismissed.
Although civil lawsuits against him are still pending, Baldwin appeared relieved as he celebrated the October 2021 expungement of charges for the death of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins.
The 66-year-old took to the streets of Santa Fe, New Mexico, hours after the decision was read out and was cheered by fans.
However, Hutchins’ widow and the father of her son Matthew Hutchins has stated that he hopes Baldwin will still be held accountable for his actions.
The remarkable turn of events followed a chaotic hearing on Friday.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer asked that the bullets be brought into the courtroom, where—in unusual scenes—she donned gloves and inspected them herself.
Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas, told the court that the bullets were brought to Santa Fe police in March of this year by former police officer Troy Teske. He claimed they were the same bullets used to kill Hutchins.
Baldwin’s attorney Nikas alleged that prosecutors “buried” the bullets as evidence by giving them a different case number than Rust’s main investigation.
When Baldwin’s lawyers went to the police in April to view all the Rust ammunition, they were not shown the ammunition. That is a violation of the rules of evidence.