Alec Baldwin offered a brief statement on Instagram after a judge dismissed his Rust shooting trial.
The 30 Rock alum had been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the October 2021 shooting death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
On Friday, July 12, however, a New Mexico judge dismissed the case with prejudice — meaning it cannot be brought again — after Baldwin’s defense team accused prosecutors of withholding evidence.
“There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now,” Baldwin wrote on Instagram the following day, speaking out about the outcome for the first time.
“To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family,” he added.
Several celebrities left messages of support in comments on the post. “Stay strong,” Ricky Martin wrote. “So happy for you and the family.”
“Bless you, sir,” Jeremy Renner commented.
“You’re the man, Alec,” wrote Holland Taylor.
And Sean Hayes commented, “Love you, pal.”
After Baldwin’s indictment on the involuntary manslaughter charge this January, his defense team filed numerous motions to dismiss the case.
On Friday, however, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer granted their request after seeing bullets that were turned over to law enforcement in March. The prosecution said they deemed irrelevant to Baldwin’s case. But the actor’s attorneys said they were not informed about that ammunition, according to The New York Times.
As Variety reports, the judge saw that three bullets from that supply of ammunition apparently matched the fatal round that killed Hutchins in an accidental shooting as Baldwin held a prop gun on the set of Rust, a low-budget Western film.
“If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly comes so near to bad faith as to show signs of scorching prejudice,” Judge Marlowe Sommer said on Friday. “Jeopardy has attached… There is no way for the court to right this wrong. The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy.”