Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Manslaughter Trial Begins with Opening Statements

Alec Baldwin‘s manslaughter trial is now in full swing, with his defense team and the prosecution giving opening statements.

The “Rust” actor’s legal team laid out their defense Wednesday in a New Mexico courthouse … insisting it wasn’t Alec’s job as an actor to make sure there wasn’t live ammunition in his gun.

Meanwhile, prosecutors argued Alec was criminally negligent with firearms on the movie set.

As we told you … Alec’s team secured a big legal victory Monday, the day before the jury selection — with the judge ruling the prosecution couldn’t use evidence related to Alec’s role as a producer to make their case.

The state can argue Alec pointing the gun at cinematographer Hutchins without checking the chamber for a real bullet was reckless … but, remember armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has already been found guilty of manslaughter based on her failure to ensure the gun didn’t have any live ammo.

Baldwin claims he did not pull the trigger on the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins back in 2021 … instead, he says he pulled back the hammer and the revolver fired without having the trigger pulled.

Footage from set during other days of filming for the movie shows Baldwin directing the crew … coaching them on safety including telling one crew member to move to the other side of the camera so he’s not shooting toward them.

Prosecutors originally charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023 before they dropped the case three months later. They re-filed the case once again earlier this year.