Prosecution: Alec Baldwin Violated the Cardinal Rules of Firearm Safety

Prosecutor Erlinda Johnson opened the trial by telling the jury that the case was “simple” and “straightforward”.
Mr Baldwin “played make-believe with a real gun” and “violated the cardinal rules of firearms safety,” Ms Johnson argued.

“While it was a movie set, it was a real, live workplace for many people,” she said in her opening statements. “You will hear that this workplace was on a tight budget… and some of the people who were hired were inexperienced.”

Mr Baldwin’s defence team, however, argued firearms are treated differently on a film set, where each member of a cast has a designated role and obligation, including when it comes to safety and firearms.

“He was just acting as he’s done for generations, and it was the safety apparatus that failed them all,” Baldwin’s lawyer Alex Spiro said.

“Alec Baldwin committed no crime,” he said firmly, later adding: “It was an actor handling a prop.”

Those crew members responsible for safety – including [Hannah] Gutierrez-Reed and David Halls, an assistant director and safety co-ordinator – failed their jobs, he argued.

“Real bullets are never supposed to be on movie sets,” Mr Spiro said. …

A key issue during the trial is Mr Baldwin’s claim that he did not pull the trigger when the revolver he was holding went off.

Prosecutors took aim at the claim early, detailing the extensive FBI tests done on the weapon.

It “worked perfectly fine as it was designed,” Ms Johnson told the jury.

Mr Baldwin’s team also brought up the tests and noted that during one of them, the FBI destroyed parts of the weapon – thus preventing it from being used for further analysis as part of their defence.

— Christal Hayes, Samantha Granville and Emma Vardy in Baldwin ‘Played Make-Believe’ With Gun, Rust Trial Hears