Alec Baldwin Files To Dismiss Defamation Lawsuit Filed Against Him By Family Of U.S. Marine Killed In Afghanistan

Josh Berger |

Apr 12, 2022

Alec Baldwin has moved to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed against him by the sister of a fallen U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, who was killed in a suicide bombing during the Biden administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal, after the actor accused her of participating in the Capitol Hill riots on January 6th, 2021.

In January of this year Baldwin revealed in a now-deleted Instagram post that, after hearing the story of her brother’s sacrifice, he had reached out to Roice McCollum and donated $5,000 to the fallen Marine’s widow to help her support the couple’s newborn daughter.

Subsequently, Roice shared a series of pictures to her Instagram account wherein she can be seen taking part in the protests that occurred at Capitol Hill and the Washington Monument on January 6th of 2021 prior to the day’s later riots.

As admitted in Baldwin’s recently filed motion, the actor then reposted McCollum’s photos to his own Instagram profile and declared, “I will take this down tomorrow. Lots of Trumpsters chiming in here with the current cry that the attack on the Capitol was a protest, (a more peaceful form which got a lot of other protestors imprisoned) and an exercise in democracy. That’s bulls–t.”

“The party that has reflexively railed on behalf of Law enforcement-Support the Troops-Jesus watched the Capitol police get beaten, one killed, and called it their right,” he added. “I’ve said it before. The Republican that can lead the GOP away from this maniac will go down in history as a hero.”

“There’s an interesting story here,” he captioned his repost of the photo depicting Roice at the Washington Monument. “So, I read in The Times, I believe, the story about the soldiers that died at the Kabul airport. I did some research. I found, on IG, that this woman is the [sister] of one of the men who was killed.”

Baldwin then explained, “I offered to send her sister-in-law some $ as a tribute to her late brother, his widow and their child. Which I did. As a tribute to a fallen soldier,” before concluding, “Then I find this. Truth is stranger than fiction.”

These posts led McCollum and her family to take legal action against Baldwin, eventually filing a $25 million lawsuit against him for defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence, and intentional distress.

As per a copy of McCollum’s defamation lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital, McCollum countered that she was not present during the rioting, but rather “stuck in place outside the Capitol Building next to multiple police officers for hours after the rioting began due to the fact that so many people were around her and the area had been locked down.”

“Later, a neighbor who was unhappy that Roice attended the demonstration turned her into the authorities,” the lawsuit explained. Ultimately, an interview conducted by the FBI cleared McCollum of any wrongdoing in relation to her attendance of the protests.

On the 4th of April, Baldwin’s legal team filed a motion with the United States District Court of Wyoming in hopes of dismissing the defamation legal complaint filed by the family of the U.S. Marine slain in Afghanistan.

Therein, the actor’s legal team stands by his claim that he “expressed his opinion about a matter of public concern,” noting that “Several others have expressed the same opinion as Baldwin about January 6.”

“Some have expressed the opposite opinion,” they continue. “And there are opinion sections of major news outlets debating whether January 6 was an insurrection. There’s even a committee of the U.S. Congress investigating this issue.”

Thus, Baldwin’s lawyers argue, “Reposting a photo Roice herself publicly posted and then expressing a political opinion about it cannot be the basis for an intentional infliction claim.”

Responding to Baldwin’s filing, McCollum family attorny Dennis Postiglione told Fox News Digital in a statement, “The irony of Baldwin asserting a political free speech defense is astounding. His entire series of posts and the subsequent attacks he caused and stoked against my clients continue to occur to this day.”

“Roice McCollum’s exercise of her own free speech rights is what set Baldwin off,” he added. “In addition, Roice has asserted multiple Federal and State claims aside from defamation.”

“There are two other family members, Rylee’s other sister and his widow, who were nowhere near D.C. on January 6 with multiple claims against Baldwin,” Postiglione concluded. “Frankly, the motion is predictable and his arguments were expected. We will file a timely response and believe we will prevail.”

What do you make of Alec Baldwin’s attempt to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed by the family of the fallen U.S. Marine? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below or on social media.

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