Alec Baldwin is being sued by the family of fallen Marine and Afghanistan hero, Rylee McCollum, after he accused McCollum’s sister of being a rioter at the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The 63-year-old actor reached out to one of McCollum’s sister, Roice McCollum, over Instagram and sent her $5,000 to support the fallen Marine’s widow, Jiennah Crayton, and her newborn baby, the Casper Star Tribune reported in a piece published Tuesday. (RELATED: ‘My Heart Is Broken’: Alec Baldwin Speaks Out After Killing Woman With Prop Gun On Set)
Rylee McCollum was one of 13 U.S. service members killed in the 2021 bombings at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, during the U.S. withdrawal after the country was taken over by the Taliban. (RELATED: REPORT: Police Say Halyna Hutchins Died After Alec Baldwin ‘Discharged’ A Prop Gun)
Family of Marine killed in Afghanistan sues Alec Baldwin for defamation https://t.co/v8ulQbTMql pic.twitter.com/1iy9L4zEsM
— New York Post (@nypost) January 19, 2022
In January of 2022, the “Saturday Night Live” star commented on photos Roice McCollum had shared on Instagram of her attending the Jan. 6 demonstrations in support of then-President Donald Trump at the Washington Monument, according to the outlet. She captioned the post, “Throwback.”
“Are you the same woman that I sent the $ to for your sister’s husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit,” Baldwin wrote on Instagram in a since-deleted post, the suit noted, according to the outlet. He also accused her of of being an “insurrectionist,” the Casper Star reported.
In screenshots of private messages from Baldwin to Roice McCollum shared in the suit, the “30 Rock” star reportedly accused her of being a “January 6th rioter.” He also reportedly said her actions resulted in the “unlawful destruction of government property” and the “death of a law enforcement officer,” the New York Post noted. Baldwin also let her know he had “reposted” the photo she shared, according to the complaint, and told her “Good luck.”
The suit also alleges Baldwin wrote a message next to the pictures that said any claims the Jan. 6 protests were non-violent were “bulls***” and that “truth is stranger than fiction,” the Casper Star noted. The post is no longer on Instagram. The suit claims Roice wasn’t part of the riots that took place after the Jan. 6 rally, and that she has been cleared by the FBI after an investigative interview.
Crayton, Roice and her sister Cheyenne McCollum said Baldwin’s actions have caused them to receive death threats and harmful messages. The sisters and the widow are suing the actor for $25 million, alleging defamation and invasion of privacy among other things, the Casper Star reported.
The suit calls Baldwin’s comments “false, outrageous, defamatory, irresponsible, vindictive.” The McCollum sisters and Crayton also allege the backlash caused them “severe emotional distress” and that they feared for their lives. The three women are asking for a jury trial to determine the amount of damages that could be awarded, according to the outlet.
