The prop company involved in the movie “Rust,” where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in 2021, has sued Alec Baldwin.
Seth Kenney, owner of PDQ Arm & Prop, accused Baldwin — along with other producers on the Western film — of running a national media strategy that deflected blame for the live round that killed Hutchins onto him.
Kenney claimed Baldwin and the production company used “cutthroat industry Hollywood ‘fixers'” and the media to cast him “in a false and offensive light,” according to the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital.
He also claimed that as a result of what he called a “national propaganda campaign,” he has suffered “ruinous financial losses” and is unable to find work.
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According to Kenney, “Rust” finished production on one of his rental properties without paying him and left his inventory in police custody. He’s asking the court to let a jury decide how much money he should get for the harm Kenney claimed he suffered. The prop distributor also requested extra money if the jury were to find Baldwin and others acted recklessly or maliciously.
Kenney worked as the main prop distributor for the Western film back in 2021. His company supplied blank and dummy rounds to the “Rust” set.
While the investigation found live rounds at PDQ Arm & Prop, the prosecution previously claimed the rounds did not match the live round fired on set on Oct. 21, 2021. During “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed’s trial, prosecutors claimed the live rounds on the “Rust” set were seen in photographs taken on Oct. 10, 2021 – two days before Kenney’s dummy rounds arrived.
“It’s been devastating,” Kenney told Variety after filing his lawsuit in 2025. “It’s not a matter of saving face. There’s nothing left to lose. This whole thing has been s—, and I have been the scapegoat.”
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Kenney claimed he filed his lawsuit after Baldwin sued New Mexico officials in January for malicious prosecution. The actor’s lawsuit reiterated the theory that Kenney’s company accidentally included live rounds with the dummy ammunition provided to the “Rust” production. Baldwin’s legal team claimed Kenney was not investigated due to his status as a prosecution witness.
“Why is he trying to paint me out to be this villain?” Kenney told Variety.
“I’ve gotta say my piece,” he said. “I do have that opportunity to say, ‘Here’s what really went on with a lot of things.'”
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Baldwin’s January lawsuit includes defamation, with his attorneys arguing that prosecutors and investigators targeted the actor and co-producer for professional or political gain.
The lawsuit was originally dismissed in July, but was recently reinstated and moved to federal court by the defendants.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, along with three investigators from the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office and the county board of commissioners, said it is a matter for federal authorities to resolve under terms of the Constitution and other U.S. laws.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
