Criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins are expected to be dropped, according to Baldwin’s lawyers.
Attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro told Fox News Digital in a statement, “We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident.”
Prosecutors criminally charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter earlier this year. At the time, Nikas said the decision to charge his client was “a terrible miscarriage of justice.”
While rehearsing a scene on the set of the movie “Rust” in New Mexico in 2021, Baldwin fired an old-fashioned revolver, killing then-42-year-old Hutchins and wounding the western film’s director.
The 64-year-old actor later claimed he cocked the gun’s hammer, but didn’t pull the trigger. An FBI report concluded that the gun couldn’t possibly have fired without a trigger pull.
Late last year, social media users dragged Baldwin for what they said was a distasteful Instagram post reminiscing about the fatal shooting on the first anniversary of the incident.
Baldwin took to Instagram, writing “One year ago today…” alongside a picture of the slain cinematographer operating a large camera.
Sensing a tone of fond memories where they expected apology, users reacted strongly to the bizarre post.
“Why would you even post this? Seems exploitive given you’re getting all the attention from your fans instead of everyone focusing on her and her poor family,” on Instagram user commented.
“I still think you should be charged for this. Elite privileges!” wrote another.
Twitter users chimed in, as well.
“Alec Baldwin reminiscing about his first kill like he’s a big game hunter,” one tweeter wrote.
This was a breaking news story. The details were periodically updated as more information became available.
