The former '30 Rock' star was being sued by the family of 20-year-old Rylee McCollum, after allegedly accusing his sister, Roice McCollum, of participating in the riots at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
- May 7, 2022
AceShowbiz - A defamation lawsuit filed against Alec Baldwin has been dismissed. The former "30 Rock" star was being sued by the family of 20-year-old Rylee McCollum, one of 13 marines killed in Afghanistan on August 26, 2021, after allegedly accusing his sister, Roice McCollum, of participating in the riots at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., earlier that year.
However, on May 4, Alec's motion to dismiss "for lack of personal jurisdiction" was granted by a judge in Wyoming. The order stated, "The Court finds and concludes that the McCollums have failed to meet their burden of proof in showing that this Court may properly exercise personal jurisdiction over Mr. Baldwin."
The case cannot be reopened or refiled because it was dismissed without prejudice and the 64-year-old star and his team are "pleased" with the ruling. His attorney, Luke Nikas, said, "We are pleased with this victory. This is a significant step toward the complete dismissal of the lawsuit, which seeks to punish Mr. Baldwin for expressing his political opinion."
It was previously claimed Alec had tracked down Roice on Instagram and sent her a cheque for $5,000 to pass on to Rylee's widow, Jiennah Crayton, and their baby after hearing about the marine's tragic death while trying to help evacuate people out of Afghanistan during the Taliban takeover.
But In January 2022, the actor allegedly accused the woman of being part of the Capitol riots the previous year, and court documents claimed Alec called her an "insurrectionish" and a "Jan. 6 rioter" in a private message to Instagram after Roice shared a photo she had taken at the Washingtom Monument on January 6, 2021.
He is said to have commented, "Are you the same woman I sent the $ for your sister's husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit? 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 Boss Baby]" star allegedly reposted her photos from the protest onto his own account and told Roice, "I reposted your photo. Good luck."
Although Roice admitted she had attended the protest, she insisted she didn't participate in the riots and had been cleared after speaking to the FBI.
She alleged she, her sister Cheyenne, and sister-in-law Jiennah had been subjected to "hostile, aggressive, hateful" messages on social media, and slammed Alec's comments as "false, outrageous, defamatory, irresponsible, vindictive."
She and her family members were seeking at least $25 million in damages for defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
