Alec Baldwin sued by Marine’s family; he gave them money before learning of Jan. 6 activities

The sisters and widow of a U.S. Marine killed in Afghanistan are again suing Alec Baldwin for $25 million, alleging the actor exposed them to social media hatred after learning one of the women was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 of last year.

Their original suit was dismissed in May by a federal judge in Wyoming who said her court had no jurisdiction over Baldwin, who lives in New York.

The new defamation suit was filed Friday in a New York federal court by Roice McCollum and Cheyenne McCollum, who live in Wyoming, and Jiennah McCollum, who lives in the San Diego area.

The claim arises from an online confrontation between Baldwin and Roice McCollum. It erupted Jan. 3, 2022, when the young woman posted a photo on Instagram referring to her presence the previous year at the Washington, D.C., protest that preceded the insurrection at the Capitol.

Baldwin saw the post and recognized her name. He had given $5,000 to the family’s GoFundMe campaign after Roice’s brother — Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20 — was killed in a bombing on Aug. 26, 2021, at the Kabul airport.

In a private message to Roice McCollum after seeing the protest picture, Baldwin told her: “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 reposted her photo on his own Instagram account, telling his followers that he had given money to the family and then later learned she was an “insurrectionist.”

“Within 20 minutes of Baldwin’s post,” the lawsuit says, “Roice began to get hostile, aggressive, hateful messages from Baldwin’s followers.” Cheyenne and Jiennah McCollum reported receiving similar messages, though they had not been at the Jan. 6 event.

The suit says Roice McCollum protested peacefully and legally and, after being interviewed by FBI agents, was not accused of any crime.

When the original suit was dismissed, the judge implied the McCollums might have a hard time winning the case because Baldwin’s statements could be considered opinions, and as such could not be found defamatory. That legal argument was the basis of the recent rejection of “MAGA Teen” Nick Sandmann’s suit against several news outlets that reported on his highly publicized encounter with an indigenous activist on the National Mall.

The McCollum women are requesting a jury trial and are seeking at least $10 million in compensatory damages, $15 million in punitive damages and court costs.

Three weeks after Rylee McCollum’s death, his widow, Jiennah, gave birth to their daughter. The suit says she “is in the process” of moving from California to North Carolina.

Three GoFundMe campaigns raised about $1 million for the family.