Title: Marine’s Family to File Revised Lawsuit against Alec Baldwin Over Social Media Harassment
Date: September 10, 2022
NEW YORK (AP) — The family of Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, a Marine killed in Afghanistan, plans to submit a revised lawsuit against actor Alec Baldwin after a federal judge dismissed their original lawsuit but allowed them to rewrite and resubmit it.
Attorney Dennis Postiglione, representing McCollum’s sisters and widow, confirmed that he will meet the September 12 deadline set by Judge Edgardo Ramos to strengthen their allegations against Baldwin. The lawsuit accuses Baldwin of subjecting the family to online threats and harassment following his engagement with a photo shared by one of McCollum’s sisters, Roice McCollum, who had been present in Washington during the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
The initial defamation lawsuit sought $25 million in damages. However, it was dismissed earlier this week by Judge Ramos, who highlighted deficiencies in the plaintiffs’ claims and invited them to refile the lawsuit. The judge ruled in Baldwin’s favor, stating that his comments were protected by the First Amendment, and the defamation claims lacked sufficient evidence.
Postiglione expressed in an email that the revised lawsuit would address the concerns raised by the judge. Although he disagreed with the court’s analysis, he remains confident that the amended complaint will resolve the issues presented.
The lawsuit reveals that Baldwin had donated $5,000 to the McCollum family after learning about Rylee McCollum’s death in the August 2021 bombing at the airport in Kabul, just weeks before Baldwin’s daughter was born. The lawsuit claims Baldwin contacted Roice McCollum through Instagram.
According to the lawsuit, in January 2022, Baldwin saw Roice McCollum’s photo of demonstrators from former President Donald Trump’s rally on the day Congress counted the Electoral College votes from the 2020 presidential election. Baldwin allegedly told Roice McCollum that he would share her photo with his 2.4 million Instagram followers along with the comment, “Good luck.”
Roice McCollum asserts in the lawsuit that she had no involvement in, support for, or condoning of the rioting that occurred at the Capitol and was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing after cooperating with the FBI.
A representative for Alec Baldwin has not yet responded to requests for comments regarding the impending revised lawsuit.
The McCollum family remains determined to seek justice for the alleged online threats and harassment they endured and seeks to hold Alec Baldwin accountable for his actions.