Lawsuit Against Baldwin From Marine's Family Dismissed

UPDATE Aug 24, 2023 5:14 AM CDT

A $25 million defamation lawsuit against Alec Baldwin from the widow and sisters of a Marine killed in the 2021 suicide attack at Kabul's airport has been dismissed—again. The actor donated $5,000 to the family of Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum after the attack. He was sued after he found out Roice McCollum, the Marine's sister, was at the protest that preceded the Capitol riot and called her an "insurrectionist." US District Judge Edgardo Ramos said some comments from Baldwin, including one calling Roice McCollum a "rioter," were in private messages and others were protected by the First Amendment, reports NBC News. He gave the family a Sept. 12 deadline to file an amended complaint. An earlier lawsuit filed in Wyoming was dismissed because the actor is a New York resident.

Aug 31, 2022 5:30 PM CDT

A defamation lawsuit against Alec Baldwin that was dismissed in Wyoming in May has been refiled in New York. The widow and two sisters of fallen Marine Rylee McCollum accuse the actor of making false charges against them, including calling Roice McCollum, one of the sisters, an "insurrectionist." Baldwin made the comment after she posted a photo of protesters in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. A federal judge tossed the suit this spring, saying the court lacked jurisdiction because Baldwin is a New York resident, CNN reports. Saying Baldwin's accusations caused emotional distress, the family is asking for $25 million in damages.

Baldwin had donated $5,000 to the family after the Marine was killed at Kabul International Airport last August, per the Hill. Roice McCollum attended the election protest and posted the photo in January to mark the one-year anniversary. Baldwin saw the post and reposted the photo on his Instagram account, calling her an insurrectionist. The refiled suit says Roice McCollum did not take part in or support the attack on the Capitol that happened the same day. She answered Baldwin online by saying, "Protesting is perfectly legal." In a post that's been deleted, Baldwin wrote that he sent the check "as a tribute to a fallen soldier. Then I find this." (More Alec Baldwin stories.)