A Wyoming judge dismissed the $25 million defamation lawsuit a Marine’s family filed against actor Alec Baldwin Wednesday. The federal judge did not comment on the merits of the lawsuit but instead said it was filed in a court that lacked jurisdiction. The attorney for the late Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum‘s family said the lawsuit will be refiled elsewhere.
The McCollum family accused Baldwinย of falsely linking his sister, Roice McCollum, to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, reports NBC News. McCollum, of Wyoming, was killed during the August 2021 attack at the Kabul, Afghanistan airport. Baldwin donated $5,000 to McCollum’s wife after the attack, according to the lawsuit.
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In January, Roice shared a photo on Instagram showing herself in front of the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, 2021, with a “Make America Great Agan” baseball cap. She did not participate in the riot, which disrupted Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election. She was not charged with a crime, according to the lawsuit. Roice said she was stuck outside the Capitol because the area was already in lockdown. There are also no records of anyone named Roice McCollum being arrested in connection with the riot.
However, McCollum’s family accused Baldwinย of sending Roice a private message, referring to her as a “January 6th rioter” and posting her photo to his Instagram page. He also discussed his donation to the McCollum family and wrote about his thoughts on the Jan. 6 riot. Since Baldwin’s post, Roice has received “hundreds upon hundreds” of hateful messages. McCollum’s widow has also received disturbing messages. According to the lawsuit, one comment to Roice read, “Your brother got what he deserved.”
According to the lawsuit, Baldwin acknowledged the hateful messages Roice received in a post. “There are hateful things toward you that are wrong,” the message read. “Irony was my point. The irony of sincerely wanting to honor your brother and the fact you are an insurrectionist.”
Roice’s supporters later criticized Baldwinย for regretting his donation to McCollum’s widow. “I gratefully supported the gofundme campaign while simultaneously not knowing the woman I approached is an insurrectionist,” Baldwin wrote in response to the critics, alongside a photo of Roice. “I think that’s… remarkable.”
The suit was dismissed without prejudice, so the McCollum family could file in a different state, which they plan to do so. “We’re going to refile in the jurisdiction where he can be sued,” McCollum family attorney Dennis Postiglione said. “It’s not the end of the story by any means.”
Baldwin‘s attorney, Luke Nikas, called Wednesday’s decision a “significant step toward the complete dismissal of the lawsuit, which seeks to punish Mr. Baldwin for expressing his political opinion.”ย
