MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Alec Baldwin reportedly has reached a settlement of a $25 million lawsuit with the sister of a marine slain in Afghanistan after publicly shaming her for attending the January 6 Capitol riot.
According to journalist Emily Miller, the 65-year-old actor settled his defamation lawsuit against Rylee McCollum's family.
During the August 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan, McCollum was one of the service members who perished in the bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
Before knowing that Rylee's sister, Roice McCollum had attended the Capitol riot on January 6, Baldwin had given $5,000 to the Marine family's GoFundMe, which Roice had set up.
After that, the actor texted her nonstop and shared her Instagram handle with his millions of followers, wishing her “good luck.”
What prompted Baldwin to message Roice?
Roice McCollum had posted three photos on her Instagram handle when she attended the January 6 riot, none of which included her face.
In the comments section of her post, Baldwin wrote: “Are you the same woman that I sent the $ to for your sister's husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit?”
In a direct message, Baldwin said: “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.”
Roice responded, saying she was not involved in the riots and was never accused of any crimes after the mob turned violent.
She said she'd been interrogated by the FBI who cleared her of any malicious involvement, replying: “Protesting is perfectly legal in the country and I’ve already had my sit down with the FBI. Thanks, have a nice day!”
Baldwin, unimpressed with Roice’s explanation, said: “I don’t think so. Your activities resulted in the unlawful destruction of government property, the death of a law enforcement officer, an assault on the certification of the presidential election. I reposted your photo. Good luck.”
Her name was subsequently made public for his 2.4 million Instagram followers when he replied to her account in the comments section of one of his Instagram posts.
Baldwin declared in public that it was "ironic" that she was involved in rioting after her brother lost his life defending the nation.
Roice was subsequently subject to troll attacks online, some of whom declared that her brother deserved to die.
Roice started to "get hostile, aggressive, hateful messages from his followers" within twenty minutes after Baldwin's post, according to the lawsuit.
Baldwin claimed to find the comments against her that she later posted about on her Instagram to be "abhorrent," but she insists he was aware of the implications of his actions.
What more did the lawsuit hearing reveal?
The slain marine's sister and widow allege in their lawsuit that Baldwin's followers are primarily Democrats and detest President Trump, whom they back.
They claim that Baldwin's comments on Instagram stoked the political embers between the two factions online.
The McCollum family was one of the most outspoken in their condemnation of Joe Biden and the catastrophic troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, which claimed the lives of 12 other service personnel in addition to Rylee.
On August 26, 2021, they were killed by an ISIS-K bomber as they attempted to guard the Abbey Gate at Kabul Airport, just as the Taliban were sweeping across the nation and tens of thousands of panicked Afghan refugees and foreign nationals were attempting to flee the country.
Previously, US District Judge Edgardo Ramos dismissed Baldwin's case, stating that his remarks were protected by the First Amendment.
The family was given until September 12 by Judge Ramos to submit an updated complaint.
Additionally, the lawsuit was rejected earlier since it was filed in the incorrect state, Wyoming rather than New York.
Attorney Dennis Postiglione spoke with Emily Miller: “My clients are happy that this matter is over. They look forward to moving on, without Alec Baldwin in their lives.”
"Mr. Baldwin did not make any payment to settle this case," the lawyer for Baldwin stated to Daily Mail.
Postiglione told Daily Mail that the family had no further comments about the matter.
