(Headline USA) The sister of a Marine killed during the military withdrawal from Afghanistan filed a defamation lawsuit against Alec Baldwin this week, alleging the actor defamed her family by falsely accusing her of participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol protest.
Roice McCollum, the sister of Marine Rylee McCollum, 20, was one of 13 U.S. service members killed during an attack outside the Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021, filed the lawsuit this week along with her sister Cheyenne McCollum and her brother’s widow, Jiennah McCollum.
The lawsuit alleges that Baldwin donated to a GoFundMe page for the McCollum family after learning of the Kabul attack, but later attacked Roice McCollum publicly after coming across a social media post that suggested she was at the Capitol melee.
“Are you the same woman that I sent the $ to for your sister’s husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit?” Baldwin allegedly asked.
Baldwin then began private messaging her, saying “When I sent the $ for your late brother, out of real respect for his service to this country, I didn’t know you were a January 6th rioter.”
He then posted the Jan. 6 photo on his account, which led to “hostile, aggressive, hateful messages” from many of his followers, the lawsuit says.
Roice McCollum clarified that she did attend a demonstration on Jan. 6 but was never a part of the Capitol riot. The lawsuit states she was even “interviewed by the FBI after the event and was cleared of any wrongdoing.”
Cheyenne and Jiennah McCollum accused Baldwin of falsely implicating them as well.
The lawsuit seeks $25 million in damages for alleged defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Baldwin is also facing a criminal investigation after he fatally shot one and injured another on the set of his movie, “Rust,” last year.
