The federal lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York by the family of Marine Lance Corporal Rylee J. McCollum
The widow and sisters of a US Marine killed in Afghanistan during the country's chaotic 2021 military exit are suing actor Alec Baldwin again for at least $25 million, alleging that he exposed them to online criticism after the actor accused one of the women of being a January 6 insurrectionist.
After McCollum's death, Baldwin found one of Marine's sisters, Roice, on Instagram and sent her a check for $5,000 for his widow, Jiennah, and her newborn baby. Baldwin said the check was a "tribute to a fallen soldier," according to the lawsuit.
Months later, in January 2022, the "30 Rock" star publicly feuded with Roice after the latter posted a photo of her attending a protest near the Washington Monument on January 6, 2021, before the first anniversary of the Capitol. riot.
In response, Baldwin accused her of participating in the riots and called her an "insurrectionist."
Her “seemingly benevolent proposals turned into a nightmare” for the McCollum family, the lawsuit alleges.
"Are you the same woman I sent the $ to for your sister's husband who died during the exit from Afghanistan?" Baldwin wrote on Roice's Instagram post from her account, according to the complaint.
He allegedly sent her a direct message as well.
“When I sent the $ for his late brother, out of true respect for his service to this country, I did not know he was a January 6th troublemaker,” the actor wrote, according to the lawsuit.
“Protesting is perfectly legal in the country and I have already sat down with the FBI. Thank you, and have a good day!" Round Ice replied.
“I don't think so,” Baldwin replied. “His activities resulted in the illegal destruction of government property, the death of a law enforcement officer, and an assault on the certification of the presidential election. I reposted your photo. Good luck."
He reposted Roice's photo to his Instagram account, which has 2.4 million followers, and mentioned her participation in the January 6, 2021 protests, according to the complaint.
Within 20 minutes of reposting the photo, Roice received “hostile, aggressive, and hate-filled messages” from Baldwin's fans, the lawsuit claims.
Additionally, he misidentified Jiennah as an insurrectionary in an Instagram comment, even though she was not in DC that day, according to the lawsuit.
Jiennah, Roice, and her sister Cheyenne received messages from Instagram users accusing them of being white supremacists and comparing them to Nazis, the lawsuit says. Some demanded that she pay Baldwin back the $5,000 he had given her.
The family alleges that Baldwin did nothing to stop millions of his followers from contacting them.
“Baldwin's conduct was negligent and reckless, as he should have known that making the allegations he made against Plaintiffs to millions of his followers would cause Plaintiffs harm,” the lawsuit states.
Baldwin's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is the second lawsuit that the plaintiffs, McCollum's sisters Roice and Cheyenne, and McCollum's widow Jiennah, have filed against Baldwin. They filed a similar lawsuit against him in January in Wyoming, where Roice and Cheyenne live. Jinnah currently lives in California.
The lawsuit was dismissed in May after a Wyoming judge said it had no jurisdiction over Baldwin, who lives in New York.
Family members have demanded a jury trial and are seeking damages of at least $25 million for alleged invasion of privacy, defamation, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
