A federal judge threw out most of Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' lawsuit against two New Mexico prosecutors, and one of them quit the Legislature a day later.

Baldwin lost most of this round, but not all of it. Prosecutorial immunity is a high wall, and the judge said so even while writing that she was concerned by the misconduct allegations. The piece that survives is the one Baldwin's side has hammered since the criminal case collapsed: what happened to the gun. And the separation-of-powers finding already cost Reeb her legislative seat.

A federal judge in New Mexico has dismissed most of actor Alec Baldwin's lawsuit against the prosecutors who charged him in the 2021 fatal shooting on the set of the film "Rust," Courthouse News Service reported Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. U.S. District Judge Kea Riggs found that Mary Carmack-Altwies, district attorney for New Mexico's First Judicial District, and Andrea Reeb, a former Ninth Judicial District attorney who was appointed special prosecutor, are entitled to absolute prosecutorial immunity on the bulk of Baldwin's claims. Weeks earlier, on Sept. 30, Riggs dismissed Baldwin's claims against another special prosecutor, Kari Morrissey, on the same grounds, Courthouse News reported.

"And so, even though the court is concerned by the allegations of misconduct by defendants Carmack-Altwies and Reeb, it recognizes that, as prosecutors, they are entitled to invoke the protection of absolute prosecutorial immunity," Riggs wrote, according to Courthouse News and the ABA Journal. Riggs ruled that Carmack-Altwies is not immune from claims tied to her alleged role in investigating and destroying the gun, writing that it was "too far removed from the judicial process." Claims over her alleged statements to the media and her alleged involvement in the law enforcement investigation will also go forward because she did not seek their dismissal. Riggs declined, for now, to dismiss some "vague and undated allegations" against Reeb.

Riggs also found that Reeb violated New Mexico's separation-of-powers provision by serving as a state legislator and a special prosecutor at the same time, though the judge concluded Reeb still had authority to prosecute, Courthouse News reported. Reeb, a Republican from Clovis, announced Thursday that she was resigning from the state House effective immediately, Source NM reported. She said she "respectfully" disagrees with the court but respects the Constitution, and that she was stepping down to continue her work as a special prosecutor. "There are victims and families across this state who have trusted me with their cases, and many of them have already waited too long for justice," Reeb said. New Mexico House Democrats said Friday that Reeb and House Republicans owe an apology to Democratic Rep. Andrea Romero, who resigned a district attorney's office job earlier over a similar conflict, Source NM reported.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died and director Joel Souza was wounded in October 2021 when a pistol Baldwin was holding discharged during a rehearsal at a ranch outside Santa Fe, Courthouse News reported. The gun had been loaded with a live round instead of dummy rounds. Prosecutors charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in early 2023. His trial in July 2024 was cut short when the judge dismissed the case over what she called "egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct and the false testimony," after testimony revealed the state had withheld ammunition that may have been connected to the live round.

Baldwin sued in early 2025, accusing the prosecutors of misconduct, defamation and civil rights violations. The prosecutors' lawyer, Luis Robles, said his clients were "relieved" and "heartened" by the ruling, Courthouse News reported. Baldwin's counsel did not respond to the outlet's request for comment. A motion to dismiss by the Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners has not yet been decided. Baldwin's criminal case ended in dismissal, and he was never convicted. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.