Entertainment
Family of fallen U.S. Marine re-files defamation lawsuit against Alec Baldwin
Rylee’s widow, Jiennah McCollum, and Rylee’s sisters, Roice McCollum and Cheyenne McCollum, are looking for $25 million in damages. They accuse Baldwin of creating false allegations towards the household, together with allegedly calling Roice McCollum an “insurrectionist” in January 2022 after she posted a photograph of a crowd of protesters in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021 to social media.
“Whereas she was current on the [January 6th] demonstration, Roice didn’t participate in, nor did she assist or condone the rioting that erupted,” the lawsuit states. “Baldwin plainly ignored Roice’s denial of rioting and the assertion that she was cleared by the FBI for taking part in any of the conduct Baldwin selected to falsely attribute to her by way of his large following.”
On the time, Baldwin’s lawyer Luke Nikas, welcomed the choice. He mentioned the lawsuit sought to “punish Mr. Baldwin for expressing his political opinion.”
The re-filed lawsuit additionally claims that Baldwin’s feedback resulted in extreme emotional misery for the plaintiffs.
“Mr. Baldwin donated a number of thousand {dollars} to Ms. McCollum to honor her husband, and now she’s suing him for extra as a result of she disagrees together with his political opinion concerning the riot that occurred on January sixth on the U.S. Capitol Constructing. We anticipate to prevail on this lawsuit, as we did the final time they filed it,” Nikas advised CNN Wednesday.
Rylee McCollum, 20, was one in all 13 U.S. service members who have been killed in an assault outdoors the Kabul airport final August because the US and different Western international locations raced to evacuate their residents and allies out of Afghanistan.
After Rylee’s loss of life, a web-based fundraiser was began on behalf of his widow, Jiennah, and her little one. Baldwin despatched Roice a verify for $5000 to share with Jiennah as “a tribute to a fallen soldier,” the lawsuit states.
Nevertheless, the lawsuit states that after Roice posted the pictures of protesters in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021 to her Instagram account on January 3, “in anticipation of the January 6, 2022, one-year anniversary of her attendance” on the protest, Baldwin commented on Roice’s publish, “Are you a similar girl that I despatched the $ to to your sister’s husband who was killed in the course of the Afghanistan exit?”
Roice “was by no means detained, arrested, charged with or convicted of any crime related together with her attendance on the January 6, 2021, occasion in Washington, DC,” the lawsuit mentioned.
She responded to Baldwin, in line with the go well with, that, “Protesting is completely authorized within the nation and I’ve already had my sit down with the FBI. Thanks, have a pleasant day!”
Baldwin responded, the lawsuit states, with, “I do not suppose so. Your actions resulted within the illegal destruction of presidency property, the loss of life of a regulation enforcement officer, an assault on the certification of the presidential election. I reposted your picture. Good luck.”
Roughly 20 minutes after Baldwin posted to Roice’s “Instagram feed,” she “started to get hostile, aggressive, hateful messages from Baldwin’s followers,” the go well with alleges.
Baldwin additionally posted a message to his personal Instagram feed, which he later deleted, stating, “Numerous Trumpsters chiming in right here with the present cry that the assault on the Capitol was a protest, (a extra peaceable type of which acquired lots of different protestors imprisoned) and an train in democracy. That is bulls—.”
His publish continued, in line with screenshots included within the go well with, “I did some analysis. I discovered, on IG, that this girl [Roice McCollum] is the brother (sic) of one of many males who was killed” killed,” in Kabul, Afghanistan.
“I supplied to ship her sister-in-law [Jiennah McCollum] some $ as a tribute to her late brother, his widow and their little one. Which I did. As a tribute to a fallen soldier. Then I discover this. Reality is stranger than fiction,” his publish added.
The go well with states Baldwin, “unequivocally understood that by forwarding Roice’s Instagram feed to 2.4 million like-minded followers and posting his commentary would end result within the onslaught of threats and hatred that it did.”
Hours after Baldwin’s publish, Lance’s different sister, Cheyenne, and his widow, Jiennah, started receiving “hateful messages and even loss of life threats,” in line with the go well with.
“Neither Cheyenne nor Jiennah” have been in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021,” the go well with claims.
Chloe Melas, Casey Hicks, and Taylor Romine contributed to this report.