BY NBC NEWS
CHEYENNE, Wyoming Alec Baldwin’s lawyer said that the actor did not have to pay anything to settle a $25 million lawsuit brought by the relatives of a Marine slain in Afghanistan. The action was launched after the actor criticized the family on social media for the January 6, 2021, uprising at the U.S. Capitol.
Judge Edgardo Ramos of the U.S. Southern District of New York rejected the case filed in August by Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum’s sisters and wife from Jackson, Wyoming. The court dropped the McCollum family’s case in October after they failed to submit an updated lawsuit by the September deadline, as requested by Ramos.
Alec Baldwin’s lawyer, Luke Nikas, told The Associated Press via email on Wednesday that Baldwin made no payment to settle the dispute.
Court filings state that since then, there has been no action in the matter. Attorneys representing the McCollum family and other lawyers involved in the case declined to speak more when reached by email on Thursday. When contacted by email on Wednesday, Postiglione said the McCollum family would not respond and denied making a comment. Alec Baldwin
During the last days of the American war in Afghanistan in 2021, Rylee McCollum and twelve other Marines perished in a suicide attack at the Kabul airport. Baldwin helped the family out in the aftermath by sending them a $5,000 check.
The lawsuit, which was first filed in Wyoming and then moved to New York, claimed that Baldwin exposed the McCollum family to a barrage of hate speech on social media in 2022 by accusing Roice McCollum of being an “insurrectionist” on Instagram for having attended former President Donald Trump’s rally in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, which was held ahead of the insurrection that same day. Alec Baldwin
According to the complaint, Roice McCollum protested lawfully and peacefully, avoided being part of the crowd that stormed the US Capitol and was never detained or prosecuted after speaking with FBI agents. Alec Baldwin
However, Ramos decided to reject the complaint because she was a “limited public figure” under the statute for discussing her brother’s murder in the press and interacting with Baldwin, a well-known celebrity, on social media.
In order to support her position as a restricted public figure, McCollum had to demonstrate that Baldwin had behaved badly toward her. Ramos decided that since Baldwin did not, his remarks were protected by his right to free expression.
The action was brought because Baldwin was in legal jeopardy because of the death of the cinematographer in a 2021 New Mexico film. Halyna Hutchins was killed, and director Joel Souza was injured when Baldwin’s revolver went off while he was aiming it. Alec Baldwin
After providing a grand jury with fresh evidence, special prosecutors are now attempting to re-charge actor Baldwin, who was previously found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Alec Baldwin
