Alec Baldwin Sued By Family Of Marine Rylee McCollum Killed In Afghanistan For $25 Million

In a strange case, the actor Alec Baldwin is being sued by the family of a Marine killed in Afghanistan he initially sent money to after he then accused them of being present at the January 6 capitol riots on social media.

Baldwin first made contact with the Marine’s family after learning the individual, named Rylee McCollum, was killed in a bombing on August 26, 2021, as he was assisting the U.S. military in evacuating citizens following the 2021 Taliban takeover.

According to court documents, Baldwin reached out to McCollum’s sister, Roice, via Instagram Direct Message. He then sent her $5,000 meant for McCollum’s widow and their baby.

Then, early this month, Baldwin messaged Roice again after no contact, accusing her of having a role in the Capitol attacks and calling her a “Jan. 6 rioter,” before reposting photos Roice took in Washington around the time of demonstrations in January 2021 to his public Instagram. Baldwin then allegedly told Roice, “I reposted your photo. Good luck.”

Baldwin eventually deleted the photos, but Roice still claims that she, her sister Cheyenne, and McCollum’s widow Jienna Crayton all received death threats from social media users after Baldwin shared her photo on his popular page.

There is a photo from January 1, 2021, that shows Roice was at the Capitol, but the complaint claims that she attended a protest on January 6 but did not participate in any riots that followed the legal protests. She says she been cleared by the FBI after an interview with them.

McCollum’s family said that Baldwin’s claims were “false, outrageous, defamatory, irresponsible, vindictive,” and caused them all “severe emotional distress.” They are requesting a jury trial, and are seeking approximately $25 million in damages.

Baldwin is also being sued by two crew members of the film Rust after a prop weapon held by Baldwin was loaded with live rounds without his knowledge, leading him to fatally shoot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.