A US federal judge has dismissed Alec Baldwin’s civil rights lawsuit against Santa Fe officials over the prosecution arising from the fatal shooting on the set of *Rust*. Judge Kea Riggs said the prosecutors were protected by absolute prosecutorial immunity because the alleged misconduct occurred as part of their official duties, while describing the allegations as a “very disturbing picture of malicious prosecution”.

Baldwin had accused prosecutors of concealing evidence and presenting false testimony to pursue charges for political gain. His criminal trial ended abruptly after a hearing over live ammunition provided to police but not recorded in the case; the trial judge found that key evidence had been deliberately withheld and that special prosecutor Kari Morrissey had given inconsistent testimony. Riggs said immunity applied even to alleged serious misconduct, prioritising the functioning of the judicial system.