Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Alec Baldwin to make first US court appearance on February 24

Alec Baldwin to make first US court appearance on February 24 (Ian West/PA)
Alec Baldwin to make first US court appearance on February 24 (Ian West/PA)

Alec Baldwin will make his first appearance in a US court over the death of Halyna Hutchins on February 24.

The Hollywood actor faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the incident on the set of the Rust movie in October 2021.

He was formally charged with the offences by the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office on Tuesday, alongside the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed.

In a statement of probable cause, filed along with the charges, the DA claimed Baldwin’s “reckless deviation from known standards and practice and protocol” directly caused the fatal shooting.

Rust incident
The Hollywood actor faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the incident on the set of the Rust movie in October 2021 (Santa Fe County Sheriff’s department/PA)

Baldwin is set to appear at the Santa Fe Magistrates Court on February 24 at 10am local time for his arraignment hearing.

The PA news agency understands the hearing is likely to be virtual.

In its report, the DA alleged the actor had shown “wilful disregard” for the safety of others in the days leading up to the incident and was not present for “mandatory” firearms training.

Instead, he had undergone a 30-minute on-set session, during which he was distracted by a phone call to his family, the DA said.

The statement added that on the day of the shooting, there were “no less than a dozen acts, or omissions of recklessness” on the set in the period prior to the incident.

“The evidence and statements documented in this affidavit confirm many instances of extremely reckless acts or reckless failures to act by Baldwin in a 10-day period,” the statement read.

“Evidence clearly shows that none of the incidents or issues were addressed by Baldwin, in his position as actor or producer, to mitigate future occurrences of recklessness, correct reckless behaviour, or correct training deficiencies.

“Baldwin’s deviation from known standards, practice and protocol directly caused the fatal death of Hutchins.”

Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be “charged in the alternative” with the two counts of manslaughter, meaning that a jury would decide not simply if they were guilty, but under which definition of involuntary manslaughter they were guilty, the DA’s office said previously.

The first charge can be referred to as involuntary manslaughter and requires proof of underlying negligence.

Rust incident
Baldwin is set to appear at the Santa Fe Magistrates Court on February 24 at 10am local time for his arraignment hearing (Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department/PA)

This charge also includes the misdemeanour charge of negligent use of a firearm, which would likely merge as a matter of law.

The second charge is involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, which requires proof that there was more than simple negligence involved in a death.

Under New Mexico law, both charges are a fourth-degree felony and are punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a 5,000 dollar (£4,000) fine.

The second charge includes a firearm enhancement, or added mandatory penalty, which makes the crime punishable by a mandatory five years in jail.