American actor, Alec Baldwin has reportedly settled a $25 million lawsuit with the sister of a Marine killed in Afghanistan, after publicly shaming her for attending the January 6 Capitol riot.
Journalist Emily Miller reported that the 65-year-old actor settled the defamation case against the family of Rylee McCollum.
McCollum was one of the service members who died in the bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Baldwin had donated $5,000 to the Marine’s family’s GoFundMe, set up by Roice McCollum, Rylee’s sister, before learning she attended the Capitol riot on January 6.
The actor then bombarded her with messages, and later posted her Instagram handle to his millions of followers, telling her ‘good luck’.
Attorney Dennis Postiglione told Miller: ‘My clients are happy that this matter is over. They look forward to moving on, without Alec Baldwin in their lives.’
Baldwin’s attorney told DailyMail: ‘Mr. Baldwin did not make any payment to settle this case.’
Roice had posted a carousel of three photos when she attended the riot, none of which included her face. One showed a different woman wearing a MAGA hat.
In the comments section of a photo on Roice’s Instagram, 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 private 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 McCollum pushed back, saying she was not involved in the riots and was never accused of any crimes during the mayhem.
She said she’d been interviewed by the FBI who cleared her of any involvement, telling Baldwin: ‘Protesting is perfectly legal in the country and I’ve already had my sit down with the FBI. Thanks, have a nice day!’
That didn’t stop the 30 Rock actor from commenting back in a direct message
Baldwin then replied: ‘I don’t think so. Your activities resulted in the unlawful 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.’
Publicly, Baldwin said it was ‘ironic’ that she was a rioter when her brother had died fighting for the country.
Roice was inundated with abuse from trolls, some of whom told her her brother, who was due to become a father when he died – deserved to be murdered.
‘Get raped and die, worthless c**t (kiss emoji). Your brother got what he deserved,’ one commenter wrote, according to the lawsuit.
US District Judge Edgardo Ramos had previously dismissed the lawsuit against Baldwin, saying his comments were protected by the First Amendment.
Judge Ramos had given the family a September 12 deadline to file a revised complaint.
It was also previously rejected for being filed in the wrong state, Wyoming rather than New York.
