‘Rust’ prosecutor who quit maintains Baldwin ‘horseplay’ on set

(NewsNation) — Erlinda Johnson, the special prosecutor in Alec Baldwin’s “Rust” trial who unexpectedly quit the case Friday, maintains that Baldwin’s on-set “horseplay” with a gun “could potentially be reckless.”

“Based on my evaluation, of the evidence that I was privy to and that I saw when I came on board on this case was that there were numerous clips from the filming on the set that showed Mr. Baldwin did unfortunately engage in some horseplay with this gun,” Johnson alleged exclusively during an appearance Friday night on NewsNation’s “CUOMO.” “These are real guns. You don’t do that with real guns.”

Defense attorneys for Baldwin said in court Friday that prosecutors concealed information about a good Samaritan who brought ammunition to law enforcement after the trial of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. They say this was exculpatory evidence that could have tied the movie’s weapons provider, Seth Kenney, to live ammo found on set.

Johnson clarified her reasoning for quitting, saying, “I left because I learned about this evidence when the public learned about it yesterday, late afternoon.”

She continues, “I was not aware that this individual had taken this ammunition to the sheriff’s department and provided it to the officers. … We have an obligation as prosecutors. Not only to the people but to the defendant. … We don’t get to decide what the defense is going to be.”

Setting aside the state’s handling of evidence, Johnson says of Mr. Baldwins on set actions, “For me, there’s no question Mr. Baldwin did not intend to do this. But the question, ‘Was there wanton recklessness?’ That’s why I did believe in the case.”

Following Johnson’s resignation, a judge dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin, who was facing charges in relation to the death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the movie’s set in 2021. He was seen crying from his seat in the courtroom after the dismissal.

Prosecutor Kari Morrissey took the stand in her own defense Friday and then announced that Johnson resigned unexpectedly due to a disagreement with having the motion hearing made public.

Chris Cuomo called Johnson’s decision to quit the case was, “a brave thing to do.”

Defense attorney Mark Geragos, who joined “CUOMO” to discuss the case, said Morrissey “should be defrocked.”

“How outrageous was that other prosecutor (Morrissey)? … I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” Geragos said.

Jurors in the actor’s trial were sent home for the weekend while the prosecution and defense made arguments over the case dismissal.

During a rehearsal for the film “Rust,” Baldwin was using a gun meant to be loaded with dummy rounds when he allegedly pointed it at the camera and fired, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

While the actor has maintained he did not pull the trigger on the weapon and that it fired by accident, FBI analysts disputed this upon examining the gun.

Kenney has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and police and prosecutors have said there is no evidence that he had any role in the live ammunition on the “Rust” set. Although the defense said they don’t know if the evidence was a live ammunition match, they argued that the “state had it, and it’s disclosable.”

“If this evidence wasn’t as important as we say it is, they would have turned it over,” defense attorney Luke Nikas said.

Morrissey, however, maintained there has been “no violation in our obligation” on behalf of the state. The prosecution has said that the ammunition was not connected to the case and was not hidden.

Gutierrez-Reed, the person responsible for keeping track of weapons used in the movie, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Prosecutors alleged Gutierrez-Reed was negligent for not realizing live rounds had been mixed in with a box of dummy rounds. Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers, meanwhile, say she was scapegoated by others working on the film. Producers had failed to keep the set safe and did not hold enough safety meetings, her defense attorneys said.

There has still not been a definitive determination on how the live rounds got on set. But prosecutors said photos found on Gutierrez-Reed’s cellphone point to her being responsible.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.