Alec Baldwin has denied that he requested a larger Colt gun before the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust in a tweet today, sent after Sante Fe sheriffs in New Mexico issued a search warrant for his iPhone.
The 63-year-old actor tweeted an article from Newsweek which claimed that he had requested a bigger gun before the accidental shooting.
‘This, in fact is a lie,’ Baldwin wrote over the article link.
‘The choices regarding any props by me for the film RUST were made weeks before production began. To suggest that any changes were made «before fatal shooting» is false,’ he added.
Alec Baldwin, 63, tweeted for the first time since he and his wife, Hilaria, 37, deactivated their accounts on the social media platform on December 6.The actor labelled Newsweek’s article on his request for a larger gun after the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust on October 21st as a ‘lie’ on Thursday evening
Alec Baldwin is seen on October 21, after speaking to investigators about the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins.Baldwin’s phone is now being sought by the team probing Hutchins’s death
His tweet came after police in New issued a search warrant for his iPhone, following the fatal October 21 shooting.
The search warrant, requested by Santa Fe sheriffs, authorizes police to review all text messages and photos on the actor’s iPhone, as well as any stored location data, as part of their investigation.
Baldwin was seen on his phone making a call shortly after the shooting.
Judge David Segura, a magistrate in Santa Fe, approved the request on Thursday afternoon.
Detective Alexandria Hancock — referred to in the warrant as the ‘affiant’ — said that they requested Baldwin hand over his phone, but the actor and his lawyers said that they require a warrant first.
‘Affiant requested Alec’s phone from him, as well as his attorney, and was instructed to acquire a warrant,’ the warrant request states.
Hancock, in the request for the warrant, spelt out in detail what she wanted to obtain from Baldwin’s phone — a list that included his contacts, call records, photos, videos, and text messages.
Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (center) died after being shot by Baldwin during a rehearsal on October 21 in New Mexico
Halyna Hutchins was described by Baldwin as ‘fantastic’, as he paid tribute to her vision and professionalism
The set of Rust, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside of Santa Fe
‘Affiant is requesting a warrant for the seizure and search of Alec Baldwins’ cell phone to search for any evidence relating to the death investigation of Halyna Hutchins,’ the warrant request states.
‘Affiant believes there may be evidence on the phone, due to individuals using cellular phones during and/or after the commission of crime(s).
‘Such information, if it exists, may be material and relevant to this investigation.
‘Affiant was also made aware there were several emails and text messages sent and received regarding the movie production ‘Rust’ in the course of interviews.’
Baldwin is seen on December 9, at the RFK Ripple of Hope gala in Manhattan
She was shot just moments after the crew entered a church set to rehearse a scene (above)
According to the search warrant, Baldwin told police that he exchanged emails with the film’s armorer, Woman Domination Hannah Gutierrez Reed, regarding what style of gun to use in the film.
They ultimately decided on a Colt .45 pistol.
Baldwin, 63, had been handed the antique pistol for the scene, and was told that it was ‘cold’ — not loaded.
He was rehearsing a scene in which he pulls out his gun and, in an interview with ABC on December 2, said that he never pulled the trigger, but the gun went off anyway.
Hutchins, woman domination a 42-year-old cinematographer, was shot and killed.The director of the film, Joel Souza, was shot in the shoulder and survived.
It is unclear why it has taken so long for New Mexico police to seize Baldwin’s phone.
The actor has insisted that he has fully cooperated with the investigation.
Baldwin on December 2 gave an emotional interview to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, in which he said he did not pull the trigger, and felt no guilt because he believed he had done nothing wrong.
‘I let go of the hammer, bang.The gun goes off. Everyone is horrified. They’re shocked. It’s loud,’ he said.
Following the interview, New York Post’s Jon Levine attempted to quiz the actor about the claim.
Baldwin refused to engage, and his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, repeatedly asked the journalist to leave and ‘please go away,’ and trained her cellphone camera on him.
Levine met the couple as they were leaving Woody Allen’s townhouse, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
An irate Baldwin was caught on video lunging at a New York Post reporter while gripping an umbrella
The confrontation took place outside Woody Allen’s Upper East Side home, where reporter Jon Levine was waiting for Baldwin to quiz him about the shooting on the set of Rust
When Levine would not stop asking questions about the shooting, Alec charged at him while grasping his umbrella and yelling that he was not allowed to be on someone’s private property.
He did not make contact with the reporter, who pointed out to him that the sidewalk was, in fact, public property.
Baldwin has spoken of his devastation at Hutchins’s death, and paid tribute to her as a wonderful cinematographer and a great person.
He told Stephanopoulos that he didn’t know she’d died until hours later, at the end of his police interview when he was photographed in the sheriff’s parking lot in Santa Fe.
He said that he has been told by people ‘in the know’ that it is ‘highly unlikely’ he’ll face criminal charges.
‘Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who it is, but it’s not me,’ Baldwin told Stephanopoulos.
‘Honest to God, if I thought I was responsible I might have killed myself.And I don’t say that lightly.’
He also took a swipe at former President Donald Trump, his media foe who he impersonated on Saturday Night Live, for suggesting that he ‘loaded the gun himself.’
‘He said that I did it deliberately.Just when you think things can’t get any more surreal, here’s the president of the United States making a comment on this tragic situation.’
Baldwin, after the interview aired, posted to Instagram a photo of him cradling one of his six young children.
‘These are tough times. The world is choked with fumes of hate. But you have given me a reason to live.Our life with our family is all I care about. Nothing else. I owe that to you.’
Baldwin described in detail for the first time the immediate aftermath of the accident on October 21.He was filming a scene inside a church on the set of the movie when the gun was handed to him.
‘She’s getting me to position the gun — everything is at her direction. I draw the gun, to her marker. I’m not shooting to the camera lens, I’m shooting just off.In her direction. This was a completely incidental shot, that may not have ended up in the film.’
Baldwin says he cocked the gun, and was discussing with Hutchins how it looked on camera.
‘I’m just showing.I go, ‘How ’bout that? Does that work? You see that? Do you see that?’ And then she goes, «Yeah, that’s good.»
‘I let go of the hammer, bang. The gun goes off. Everyone is horrified. They’re shocked. It’s loud. They don’t have their earplugs in.
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news floatRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-48eab250-5ecd-11ec-b22b-d106633f7bf0" website Baldwin denies claims he asked for a larger gun on Rust set