Alec Baldwin, whose involuntary manslaughter case was dismissed in July, is suing Santa Fe, New Mexico prosecutors, accusing them of malicious prosecution and civil rights violations.

Baldwin said that the prosecutors pursued criminal charges against him in the accidental shooting death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins out of a desire to “scapegoat Baldwin for the acts and omissions of others.”

The suit accuses Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and others of manipulating evidence and eliciting false testimony.

The actor’s lawsuit, filed in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico, also accuses prosecutors of violating his constitutional rights via “improper use of the criminal process.”

Judge Marlowe Sommer ended Baldwin’s criminal trial in July by finding that prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defense. She dismissed the case without the possibility of a retrial.

“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” the judge said at the time.

Baldwin’s lawsuit echoes Sommer’s findings, accusing the prosecutors of “intentional concealment of exculpatory evidence and then lying from the witness stand during trial about their coverup.”

In a statement to news outlets in response to Baldwin’s lawsuit, Morrissey wrote, “In October 2023 the prosecution team became aware that Mr. Baldwin intended to file a retaliatory civil lawsuit. We look forward to our day in court.”

A request for further comment from the prosecutors was not immediately returned Friday.

Background on the Alec Baldwin Rust Case

Hutchins was killed by an October 21, 2021 shooting on the Rust set when a gun held by Baldwin, the lead actor and a producer on the film, discharged with live ammunition.

Baldwin, who has denied pulling the trigger, was rehearsing a scene when a live round discharged from a prop gun that was supposed to contain only dummy rounds. In addition to Hutchins’s death, director Joel Souza was wounded, but he recovered.

In April of last year, Rust on-set armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed received the maximum sentence of 18 months in jail for involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death.

Prosecutors blamed her for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set and for failing to follow basic gun-safety protocols.

Baldwin’s lawsuit includes photos of live and “dummy” ammunition that show the two may be “indistinguishable” from one another — making the case that Baldwin could not have known he was holding a gun with real ammunition, and notes that on film sets, the armorer is typically responsible for firearm safety, not actors.

It also goes into a moment-by-moment recreation of the shooting, to make the case that Baldwin bore no responsibility in Hutchins.

His lawsuit states that Rust first assistant director announced “cold gun” — film industry parlance for a gun that contains no live rounds — before giving the gun to Baldwin.

The lawsuit also contains a deep dive into the aftermath of the shooting, including an investigation that, Baldwin contends, included many errors. It also accuses prosecutors of making various improper statements to the news media.

Baldwin is seeking a jury trial, with damages to be determined. Such a trial would, curiously, bring him back to the state where he was once a defendant, this time as a plaintiff.

“As a direct and proximate result of the Defendants’ unreasonable and unlawfulactions, Baldwin has suffered and continues to suffer substantial past and future damages, both compensatory and general, including, but not limited to, legal expenses, loss of income, severe emotional distress, mental anguish, and embarrassment in an amount to be determined at trial,” his lawsuit says.

Baldwin’s lawsuit also says that he is entitled to punitive damages, because the prosecutors actions were “motivated by evil motive or intent and involved a reckless or callous indifference to Baldwin’s constitutionally protected rights.”

Main image: Alec Baldwin in Rust.