Alec Baldwin Ordered To Turn His Phone In For ‘Rust’ Investigation
A search warrant has been issued for actor Alec Baldwin’s cell phone in connection with the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust.
Per CNN, a judge signed the warrant yesterday (December 16) which states that Baldwin, along with his attorney, were asked to turn over the phone, and the detective was told to “acquire a warrant.” Officials are looking to obtain messages, call logs, digital photos and videos, as well as any private messages sent on social media platforms in relation to the production of Rust, court documents said. It also looks to obtain any deleted videos, photos and messages on the phone that have to do with the movie.
Hutchins was fatally shot October 21 during a rehearsal for a scene in a church at Bonanza Creek Ranch. Director Joel Souza was also injured in the shooting. The scene was going to show Baldwin cocking the gun, and he and Hutchins were going over how she wanted to position his hand right before the gun went off, the actor told ABC's George Stephanopoulos this month.
“And I cock the gun, I go, ‘Can you see that? Can you see that? Can you see that?’ And then I let go of the hammer of the gun, and the gun goes off. I let go of the hammer of the gun, the gun goes off,” Baldwin recalled. He was aiming the gun just off to the side of the camera, as Hutchins was instructing him to, in her direction, he said.
“I’m holding the gun where she told me to hold it, which ended up being aimed right below her armpit, was what I was told,” Baldwin said. When asked why he pointed the gun at Hutchins and pulled the trigger when that wasn’t in the script, Baldwin said, “I would never point a gun at anyone and then pull the trigger. Never.”
Baldwin’s civil attorney Aaron Dyer responded last night in a statement: “We are confident that the evidence will show that Mr. Baldwin is not responsible civilly or criminally for what occurred on October 21, and he continues to cooperate with authorities. We proactively requested that the authorities obtain a warrant so that we could take steps to protect Mr. Baldwin’s family and personal information that is clearly unrelated to the investigation. A phone contains a person’s entire life, and personal information needs to be protected. While they evaluate the phone information, we hope that the authorities continue to focus on how the live rounds got on the set in the first place.”
