But we do need to jump over
to some breaking news right now.
Prosecutors in New Mexico
have just announced that actor
Alec Baldwin
has been
is going to be charged
with involuntary manslaughter
for his role in the fatal
shooting on the set of the movie Rust.
Now, this,
all you'll
remember, happened back
in October of 2021,
a gun that Baldwin was holding
discharged, killing cinematograp
Helena Hutchins,
injuring the film's director.
At the same time,
the film's armorer has also been
will also be charged
with involuntary manslaughter.
Let's get over to Josh Campbell,
who's live inside
the district attorney's office
in Santa Fe,
where this announcement has been
has just come through.
Josh, what more are you learning
Yeah, Kate, significant news her
This is what we have been waitin
The D.A.
said that
she would be making a announceme
today in this case.
Of course,
this stemming
from that October 2021
shooting here in Santa
Fe on the set of the movie Rush.
The significant news,
as you mentioned, is actor
Alec Baldwin will be charged,
according to prosecutors,
with involuntary manslaughter.
A second individual,
this was the person who was resp
for the weapons
on the set and safety on the set
will simply be charged.
Now, interestingly,
both of these people will be cha
with two counts each.
And what the prosecutor says
is that one of those involuntary
manslaughter charges
includes
underlying negligence,
that there was some kind of negl
on the part of each of these peo
The second charge requires
more than negligence in what she
And it sounds, at least
at this point, that they are the
throwing significant charges up,
but it will be up to a jury.
The D.A.
says to actually decide
which definition best fits
the circumstances of this case.
So it's not just one charge.
Both Alec Baldwin
and Hannah Gutierrez read the ar
They will both be charged with t
of involuntary manslaughter.
Now, a third
individual, David Hall,
who was the assistant
director on the set,
he at one point had allegedly ha
that firearm
that was used in that fatal
shooting of cinematographer
Helena Hutchins.
He has agreed,
according to the district
attorney's office,
to plead
to negligent use of a deadly wea
And that's a misdemeanor is what
had previously described to me.
So he is he will sign a plea agr
if that hasn't already been exec
by agreeing to plea to that.
So three people now
expected to be charged or excuse
two people expect to be charged
one person expected to plea.
There were a host of other peopl
who were involved in this, obvio
who came under scrutiny
that were involved in the props
that were on the set from,
you know, from the weapon itself
to some of the bullets,
the live ammunition that we saw,
at least as of right now,
those people have not been charg
And, of course, we'll be speakin
with the D.A.
to to get a better sense
of whether this case is now over
is the sense of,
you know, assessing
and then moving to prosecution
or if other people might be in j
That's something that we will co
to watch.
But again, the major news here,
although these three individuals
have claimed that they are innoc
they continue to say
that they did nothing wrong.
The district attorney's office
now moving with charges in this
Actor Alec Baldwin
and the person who was responsib
for the weapons on the set
will be charged
by the district attorney here
in Santa Fe Kate.
All right, Josh, thank you so much for that
Will definitely be looking
for your interview
with the district attorney
right after this has now been an
One when you wrap that up.
Thank you very much.
Joining me now for more on
this is CNN legal analyst
Elliot Williams, prop master
Dutch America's here as well.
He's a prop master for film
and television for 25 years.
And also with us is CNN
entertainment reporter Chloe Mil
Elliot, let me start with you.
Your reaction to what
we've now learned, the statement
from the district attorney
that I'm looking at
the charges now
filed against against Alec
that will be filed against Alec
and the armor
You know, Kate, I'm
not surprised at all
by these charges, and particular
if you separate
Alec Baldwin,
the actor from Alec Baldwin,
the producer,
it would have been hard to see
him charged
with a crime in his capacity
as an actor here.
But he's being charged, in effec
as somebody who was responsible
for what happened on the set
and what this involuntary mansla
charge comes down to is negligen
The law defines that as the duty
that a reasonable person
in a similar situation
would have provided. Right.
And that requires
comparing this situation
to other movie sets.
And what I think
the prosecutors found here
was that
what happened
was so
unreasonable as to
and this is the right out of the
producing death in an unlawful m
without due caution and interest
And so it's
this wasn't just a simple accide
that happened on a movie set,
at least according to the prosecutor, all
What this is, was such a failure
from the leadership
on the
on the movie set
that led to an incredibly tragic
And Dutch,
you have been following this so
We've talked so many times
when this happened,
when the report came in from the
from the police.
What do you think of this news?
Well, it
was inevitable that
somebody gets charged.
Most certainly,
I think it's important to rememb
So I've been teaching a class
based on this now.
It's literally,
literally a teachable moment
for the entire film industry.
And we bring classrooms together
film professionals
and we break down the rust incid
based on the legal reports.
The FBI
and the Santa Fe district attorn
And when I ask
when I turn to the people in the
and I say, okay, now who is resp
When we look at all
these failing of events,
this chain of events, who is res
Give me some names.
Let's put them on the dry erase
They don't come up with any
less than ten names.
So this was a chain of events
that happened
long before a gun
got an Alec Baldwin's hand
and the round left the barrel.
It started with the hiring pract
It started with the budgeting
and the way they had scheduled t
and the way they were treating t
And then the seed that was plant
that really was a fatal
moment was
when they somebody provided
live ammunition
disguised as dummy rounds in a b
to a film set,
which I've
talked to hundreds of people now
and nobody has any recollection
ever in history of live rounds b
mistakenly to a film set.
So that seed germinated
and everybody had
everybody's hands
who that went through the prop m
the armorer,
and eventually the first A.D.
who inserted himself in this pro
where he had no business
being each one of those things
cascaded in an event
that any one of those things
would have stopped this.
So, you know, are these people n
Certainly.
But I would offer that there are
more people
up the food chain
that are negligent
from the very beginning.
And just to note,
because this is a pretty
lengthy statement I'm
working through right now,
but to the control room
and all, if you see and hear
if there is an answer to that qu
in this and I don't see it yet,
that has been the question
that Dutch is raising,
which is who actually
how did a live round end up on s
and in that gun?
I don't see if it's declared her
in this information
coming from the district attorne
But clearly, just in general,
have we gotten a statement yet
in from Alec Baldwin
or from Hannah Gutierrez?
No, we have not.
But what's interesting is
I sat down with Alec Baldwin in
and he maintained that
he had nothing to do.
He had told me
with hiring the prop masters, wi
the woman
in charge of the weapons on set,
Hannah Gutierrez Reid,
which is also charged with two c
of involuntary manslaughter.
And he said that when he was han
that gun on the set, it was decl
and that he did not pull the tri
and that it regardless
of pulling the trigger,
there never should have been
a live round on set
to the guess who just sat on poi
But at the same time,
though, Alec Baldwin
saying from the beginning
that, you know,
he was was a tragic accident
and that, you know, his attorney
telling me over
the summer
that it would be a miscarriage o
for him to be charged.
But obviously,
we see that the tides
obviously not in Alec Baldwin fa
Something, though,
I do want to point out
is that
there is a settlement
on the table between
Alec Baldwin,
Russell production
and Helena Hutchins family,
her widow, her son.
And they were going to go back t
spring and finish
filming the movie
so that the proceeds could go
to the family.
This was a moment
where they all had
come together and now in light o
a question that I have is
what happens to that?
Obviously, they can't go back an
that movie now.
Obviously, there won't be, you k
that family settlement.
What happens to that
And we do know from things
that Alec Baldwin has told
me and CNN is that he will fight
he will fight charges,
he will go to trial
and we are awaiting comments fro
any moment.
Yeah, that will.
And we will wait
to see what what his statement i
And this does, of course, kick
start a long legal process.
Elliot, of course, and I did
see in this statement
from the district attorney,
the special prosecutor who was b
said this in a statement,
If any one of these three people
Alec Baldwin,
Hannah Gutierrez, Reed
or David
Hall's had done their job,
Helena Hutchins would be alive t
It is that simple.
Elliot what happens now?
So we get ready for trial.
And just as you know,
yes, it's Alec Baldwin,
and that's a common name
and someone that people many peo
like to watch
on television and movies and so
But right as of right now or soo
he will be charged
defendant with a crime.
He will have a right to
answer for the charges.
And certainly under the law
is entitled to a speedy trial
just like everybody else.
Now, look,
one of the defendants here
has already pled guilty to an of
I would guess that
and this is pure speculation.
Perhaps that individual's
testimony
might have helped
support the other charges
for the other individuals here.
But either
they get toward a plea agreement
or as he said,
as Chloe had said a moment ago,
he may fight this
and take it all the way to trial
Now, look,
there's a huge disincentive
to defendants in our system
to going to trial
because you're going to end up
with a heavier sentence
than you would have gotten
had you pled guilty.
So that's a consideration
for Alec Baldwin and his lawyers
But some people,
some defendants
truly think they can kick it and
and he may fight it to the end.
And as I was kind of
just speaking to, it's been answ
that there's no detail,
real detail in here about anythi
that they uncovered
in their investigation
or their interviews with the pro
What led to these charges.
Especially this really big myste
all along, which has been
how did they live
round end up at the gun?
And that has been
I would think that the way you'v
it is kind of like
the biggest burning question for
as well.
It's not answered here.
Will it get answered, do you thi
Well, I've pored over the FBI re
and the other police reports,
and they did a very good job,
a very thorough job
of taking statements
and really trying
to break down the events of that
And it turns out that there was
with more than 25 live rounds on
It wasn't one round
that happened on that step
that happened to be on that set
with 25 live rounds.
It's incredibly bad odds
that something bad is going to h
They found these rounds
scattered in different places
on work carts.
In the belt that Baldwin was wea
was a live round
live rounds were scattered
around the set.
So it was only a matter of time
before one of these got fired.
And the fellow that sent them,
I would say that it
probably boils down to that.
And you've also got
I think one of the biggest confl
we have in the film
industry is the
role of the first assistant dire
The producers have seen fit to m
the chief safety officer
because they're on the set at al
So that means that
they're the person to say,
let's make it safe.
Let's take the extra moment,
let's take a beat to check the g
But that first ad has another jo
which is let's beat the clock.
Let's make our day by the end of
So you've got two conflicting ro
in that in that role.
But it's a matter
that was rounds everywhere on th
that it's a very dangerous oppor