NEW YORK (AP) — The family of a Marine killed in Afghanistan has reignited a libel lawsuit against Alec Baldwin over comments the actor made online.
The sisters and widow of Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum alleges that Baldwin subjected them to online threats and harassment after posting and commenting on a photo shared online by one of McCollum’s sisters, Roice McCollum, who was in Washington during the 6 January 2021.
Baldwin had donated $5,000 to the family after learning of Rylee McCollum’s death in a Kabul airport bombing in August 2021, just weeks before his daughter was born. Baldwin had contacted Roice McCollum via Instagram, according to the lawsuit.
In January 2022, Baldwin saw that Roice McCollum posted a photo of protesters at former President Donald Trump’s rally taken the day Congress counted the Electoral College votes from the 2020 presidential election, according to the complaint.
Baldwin privately messaged her and confirmed that she had organized the fundraiser for her brother, according to the lawsuit. She replied that her participation in the protest was “perfectly legal”, according to court documents.
Baldwin told Roice McCollum he would share his photo with his 2.4 million Instagram followers and wrote, “Good luck,” according to the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Roice McCollum said she “did not participate in, support, or condone the riots that broke out” on Capitol Hill, and was cleared of any wrongdoing after meeting with the FBI.
The family’s lawsuit was originally filed in Wyoming but dismissed by a judge there in May for lack of jurisdiction because Baldwin posted the messages in New York and they weren’t specifically aimed at an audience in the Wyoming.
The pending lawsuit was filed in New York on Friday and seeks a total of $25 million in punitive and compensatory damages.
Baldwin had asked that the case be dismissed in Wyoming, saying he was expressing his political opinion and that claims by McCollum’s sister Cheyenne McCollum and his widow Jiennah McCollum should be dismissed as he had made no statement about them.
In an email, Luke Nikas, a lawyer representing Baldwin, said: “Mr. Baldwin donated several thousand dollars to Ms. McCollum to honor her husband, and now she is suing him for more because she doesn’t disagrees with his political opinion on the January 6 uprising at the United States Capitol. We expect to prevail in this lawsuit, as we did the last time they filed it.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
