[Source: AP]

A lawsuit by actor Alec Baldwin alleging malicious prosecution in the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western movie “Rust” has been reinstated and moved to federal court by the defendants.

Baldwin initially filed the lawsuit in state court in January, claiming civil rights violations and seeking damages after a charge of involuntary manslaughter against the actor was dismissed at trial in 2024 on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense.

A petition to move the malicious prosecution case to federal court was filed Monday by the defendants — special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, along with three investigators from the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office and the county board of commissioners.

The change of court venue raises the stakes in Baldwin’s yearslong conflict with New Mexico authorities. Here are some things to know.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for “Rust,” was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.

Few people testified at Baldwin’s July trial before it was upended by revelations that ammunition was brought into the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office in March 2024 by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins’ killing.

Prosecutors said they deemed the ammo unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin’s lawyers say investigators “buried” the evidence in a separate case file and filed a successful motion to dismiss.

A judge threw out the charge against Baldwin and later refused a request from prosecutors to reconsider.

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