Alec Baldwin settles $25 million defamation lawsuit with sister of Marine killed in Afghanistan withdrawal after claiming she was part of January 6 riots
Alec Baldwin has reportedly settled a $25 million lawsuit with the sister of a Marine killed in Afghanistan after publicly shaming her for attending the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Journalist Emily Miller reported that the 65-year-old actor had settled the defamation lawsuit against Rylee McCollum’s family.
McCollum was among the soldiers killed in the bombing of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Baldwin had donated $5,000 to the Marine’s family’s GoFundMe, set up by Roice McCollum, Rylee’s sister, before learning she had attended the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
The actor then bombarded her with messages and later posted her Instagram account to his millions of followers, telling her “good luck.”
Attorney Dennis Postiglione told Miller, “My clients are glad this case is over. They look forward to moving on without Alec Baldwin in their lives.”
Baldwin’s lawyer told DailyMail.com: ‘Mr. Baldwin has not made any payment to settle this case.”
Alec Baldwin, seen here in September this year, has reportedly reached a settlement with the family of a fallen Marine
Baldwin had donated $5,000 to the Marine’s family’s GoFundMe, set up by Roice McCollum, pictured here with a photo of her late brother
Family members also told Miller they could not discuss the case further.
Roice had posted a carousel of three photos during the riot, none of which showed her face. One showed another woman wearing a MAGA hat.
In the comments section of a photo on Roice’s Instagram, Baldwin wrote, “Are you the same woman I sent the $ to for your sister’s husband who was killed during the exit from Afghanistan?”
In a private message, Baldwin said, “When I sent the $ for your late brother, out of true respect for his service to this country, I did not know you were a January 6th rioter.”
Roice McCollum pushed back, saying she was not involved in the riots and was never charged with any crimes during the chaos.
She said she was interviewed by the FBI, who cleared her of any involvement, telling Baldwin, “Protesting is perfectly legal in the country and I have already spoken to the FBI. Thank you, have a nice day!’
That didn’t stop the 30 Rock actor from responding back in a direct message.
Baldwin then replied, “I don’t think so. Your activities resulted in the unlawful destruction of government property, the death of a law enforcement officer, an attack on the certification of the presidential election.
“I reposted your photo. Good luck.’
McCollum, seen here, was among the soldiers killed in the bombing of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport during the withdrawal from Afghanistan
Roice had posted a carousel of three photos during the riot, none of which showed her face. One showed another woman wearing a MAGA hat, seen here
The 30-something Rock star responded to her post about the money he donated to the family after discovering she had been at the Capitol on January 6
Publicly, Baldwin said it was “ironic” that she was a rioter when her brother had died fighting for the country.
He then replied to her name in the comments section of his own Instagram post, revealing her name to his 2.4 million followers.
Roice was inundated with abuse from trolls, some of whom told her that her brother, who was set to become a father when he died, deserved to be killed.
“Get raped and die you worthless c**t (kiss emoji). Your brother got what he deserved,” one commenter wrote, according to the lawsuit.
Within 20 minutes of Baldwin’s post, Roice began receiving “hostile, aggressive, hateful messages from his followers,” the lawsuit said.
She posted one to her feed, which Baldwin said she found “repulsive,” but she claims he knew what he was doing with his original post.
U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos had previously dismissed the lawsuit against Baldwin, saying his comments were protected by the First Amendment.
Judge Ramos had given the family a September 12 deadline to file a revised complaint.
It was also previously rejected because it was filed in the wrong state: Wyoming instead of New York.
Baldwin said it was ‘ironic’ that she was a rioter when her brother, seen here, had died fighting for the country
Roice McCollum pushed back, saying she was not involved in the riots and was never charged with any crimes during the chaos, pictured above
Roice McCollum is seen here posing with former President Trump in one of her Instagram posts
The McCollum family have been among the most outspoken in their criticism of Joe Biden and the disastrous troop withdrawal from Afghanistan that led to Rylee’s death and those of 12 other service members.
They were destroyed by an ISIS-K bomber as they tried to secure the Abbey Gate at Kabul airport on August 26, 2021, as tens of thousands of frenzied Afghan refugees and international citizens tried to flee the country as the Taliban swept through.
In their lawsuit, the Marine’s sister and widow point to the fact that Baldwin’s fans are overwhelmingly Democratic and hate President Trump – whom they support.
They say Baldwin fanned the flames of political disagreement between the two camps with his comments on Instagram.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Postiglione said the family had no further comment on the matter.