- The family of a US Marine who was killed in Afghanistan has filed a defamation lawsuit against Alec Baldwin.
- Relatives of Rylee McCollum claim that Baldwin accused them of being January 6, 2021, insurrectionists on Instagram.
- Rylee's sister was present at the Capitol during the riot, but says she never entered the building.
The family of a US Marine who was killed in a suicide-bombing attack in Afghanistan last summer has filed a $25 million defamation lawsuit against Alec Baldwin, claiming that the actor accused them of being insurrectionists on Instagram after he learned the Marine's sister was at the Capitol building during the riot on January 6, 2021.
Baldwin's comments about the family on the social media platform "were false, outrageous, defamatory, irresponsible, vindictive, and caused – and continue to cause – Plaintiffs severe emotional distress," relatives of 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum said in the lawsuit.
McCollum was among the 13 US service members killed in the attack at Kabul airport on August 26 as troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in US District Court for the District of Wyoming by McCollum's two sisters, Roice and Cheyenne McCollum and his widow, Jiennah McCollum, claims that Baldwin defamed the family to his 2.4 million Instagram followers.
Baldwin had donated $5,000 to a GoFundMe campaign for the slain Marine's widow and her newborn daughter, "as a tribute to a fallen soldier" after Rylee's death, the court papers say.
But earlier this month on January 3, Baldwin posted about Roice after she shared a "throwback" photo of a crowd of pro-Trump protesters in front of the Washington Monument on January 6, 2021, "in anticipation" of the one-year anniversary of the Capitol riot, the suit says.
"Are you the same woman that I sent the $ to for your sister's husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit?" Baldwin's account commented on Roice's Instagram post.
The suit says that Baldwin then privately messaged Roice, accusing her of being an "insurrectionist" and telling her to "own it."
"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," Baldwin messaged Roice, according to the lawsuit.
Roice replied, "Protesting is perfectly legal in the country and I've already had my sit down with the FBI. Thanks, have a nice day!" according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says Roice attended the Washington DC rally on January 6, 2021, in a "peaceful, law-abiding manner."
Neither Cheyenne nor Jiennah were in DC on the day of the Capitol riot, the suit says.
The lawsuit alleges that Baldwin messaged Roice: "I reposted your photo. Good luck." — and then shared a post on his Instagram account calling claims that people were at the Capitol peacefully "bullshit" and saying he donated money to a soldier who died in Afghanistan but "Then I find this. Truth is stranger than fiction," according to the lawsuit.
An attorney for Baldwin did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider on Wednesday.
The McCollums' lawsuit alleges that Roice got "hostile, aggressive, hateful messages from Baldwin's followers" within minutes of the post, including one message telling her to "get raped and die."
The McCollums said Baldwin "continued to engage his followers" and alleged he "fueled firestorm of hatred that he started."
The family members accused Baldwin of defamation, invasion of privacy, and negligence, and are seeking at least $25 million in damages, according to the lawsuit.