The sisters and girlfriend of a Marine killed during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal are suing Alec Baldwin for defamation as legal troubles continue for the liberal-leaning actor.
Baldwin, 63, is also currently under investigation after shooting and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his film Rust in October.
Rylee McCollum, 20, was one of the 13 military members who died in the bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul while processing evacuees during the withdrawal.
McCollum’s sister, Roice, has previously spoken out against President Joe Biden for saying he showed ‘total disregard to the loss of our Marine — our brother, son, husband, and father’ when he spoke to McCollum’s widow in Dover, Delaware, during an event with families of the fallen service members.
After McCollum’s death, Baldwin reached out to Roice on Instagram and sent her a check for $5,000 for Jiennah Crayton, McCollum’s widow, and the couple’s newborn baby.
Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyo Eleven Marines, was among the dead, while 18 other U.S. service members were wounded in Thursday Aug. 26, bombing, which was blamed on Afghanistan’s offshoot of the Islamic State group
The McCollum sisters, Roice (center) and Cheyenne (left), have previously spoken out against President Biden
Baldwin told McCollum it was a ‘tribute to a fallen soldier.’
Earlier this month, however, McCollum posted a photo on Instagram showing her at the Washington Monument on January 6, the day of the Capitol riot.
McCollum has said that she was not involved in the riots and was never accused of any crimes during the mayhem, according to the news outlet.
That didn’t stop the 30 Rock actor from commenting.
‘Are you the same woman I sent the $ for your sister’s husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit?’ Baldwin wrote on Roice’s Instagram post from his own account, according to a complaint filed Monday in federal court.
Jiennah Crayton, the mother of McCollum’s baby, posted a tribute to the fallen soldier after his death
He then allegedly reached out to McCollum in a direct message.
‘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,’ the ’30 Rock’ star allegedly wrote.
McCollum pushed back, arguing that peaceful protest is legal and that she’d been interviewed by the FBI.
‘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,’ Baldwin allegedly wrote back.
Roice said that she soon received ‘hostile, aggressive, hateful’ messages after Baldwin posted her photo to his own Instagram account and accused Rylee McCollum’s widow of being an insurrectionist, despite not being in Washington at all that day.
This photo of McCollum at the Washington Monument on January 6, 2021 – she said she was cleared by the FBI and was not at the Capitol – caused Baldwin to direct message her, accusing her and her brother’s widow of being insurrectionists
‘Get raped and die, worthless c— (kiss emoji). Your brother got what he deserved,’ one commenter wrote, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also said that some users told Baldwin he should be refunded the moeny he donated and that he did nothing to stop his 2.4 million followers from dogpiling on Roice, her sister Cheyenne, or Crayton.
‘Baldwin’s conduct was negligent and reckless as he should have known that making the allegations he did against Plaintiffs to his millions of followers would cause Plaintiffs harm,’ the lawsuit alleged.
‘I think it’s worth noting, too, that his social media following … is five times the population of your state,’ the family’s attorney, Dennis Postiglione, added.
Representatives for Baldwin have not yet commented on the matter.
The McCollumn sisters and Jiennah Crayton are seeking $25million in damages for defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk