Family of Fallen Marine Sues Alec Baldwin For Defamation Seeking $25M
JACKSON, WYOMING, UNITED STATES, January 19, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On January 17, 2021, the young widow and family of Lance Corporal (LCPL) Rylee J. McCollum (a U.S. Marine with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, who was killed while serving his country on August 26, 2021, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court of Wyoming (Case No. 0:22-cv-00008) against actor and political activist ALEC BALDWIN for his fuse-lighting Instagram posts which resulted in an onslaught of harassing and life-threatening messages by BALDWIN’s followers against the McCollum family. LCPL McCollum left behind a 21-year-old widow, Jiennah (“Gigi”), his newborn daughter Levi Rylee Rose McCollum, two sisters (Cheyenne and Roice), and his parents. The McCollum’s lawsuit seeks in excess of $25 million in actual and punitive damages.
After LCPL McCollum was killed in Afghanistan, BALDWIN sent his widow $5,000 as “a tribute to a fallen soldier.” But on January 3, 2022, BALDWIN’s seemingly benevolent overtures turned into a nightmare for the McCollum family when BALDWIN went on an Instagram rant about LCPL McCollum’s sister (Roice), who posted a photograph commemorating the “Make America Great Again” protest in Washington D.C. BALDWIN began his Instagram harangue by asking Roice, “[a]re you the same woman that I sent the $ to for your sister’s husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit?” The lawsuit alleges that after Roice confirmed she was LCPL McCollum’s sister (not the widow) and informing BALDWIN she did not participate in the “riot” and was cleared by the F.B.I., BALDWIN unleashed on her in private messages accusing her and her family of being, among other things, “insurrectionists” and “rioters.” Just before taking his attack public, BALDWIN messaged Roice “I reposted your photo, Good luck.” BALDWIN’s post reached his 2.4 million followers and within a few minutes of the post, the family began receiving hundreds of harassing and life-threatening messages, including heinous threats such as, “Get raped and die, worthless c**t, your brother got what he deserved.” The lawsuit alleges that instead of stopping these comments, BALDWIN continued to incite his followers.
Dennis Postiglione, one of the McCollum’s attorneys, stated, “[r]egardless of a person's politics, what Baldwin did here should never be allowed to stand. He is one of the most recognizable people in the country and has a social media following five times the population of the State of Wyoming. He abused that platform willingly and put the McCollum’s through hell at a time when they had just begun to cope with Rylee’s death. This lawsuit will hold him accountable to the McCollum family and the proud legacy of Lance Corporal McCollum.”
The McCollum family is also represented by Joseph Casas, a former Marine infantryman turned Navy JAG prosecutor. According to Casas, “Baldwin waged war against a Marine Gold Star family and Marines everywhere, including me. He will need to take serious accountability to make this right, if he won’t, justice will.”
The federal lawsuit charges Baldwin with violation of Plaintiffs’ right to privacy, defamation, gross negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. According to Gigi, Rylee’s widow, “Rylee was the type of person to always root for the underdog— anyone who couldn’t help themselves. He would drop everything to help someone if he could. Alec Baldwin uses his power and influence to hurt people, instead of helping them. I just want him to know he can’t get away with it. People will fight back.”
For information, contact: Dennis Postiglione at (855) 267-4457 or (512) 806-7699
After LCPL McCollum was killed in Afghanistan, BALDWIN sent his widow $5,000 as “a tribute to a fallen soldier.” But on January 3, 2022, BALDWIN’s seemingly benevolent overtures turned into a nightmare for the McCollum family when BALDWIN went on an Instagram rant about LCPL McCollum’s sister (Roice), who posted a photograph commemorating the “Make America Great Again” protest in Washington D.C. BALDWIN began his Instagram harangue by asking Roice, “[a]re you the same woman that I sent the $ to for your sister’s husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit?” The lawsuit alleges that after Roice confirmed she was LCPL McCollum’s sister (not the widow) and informing BALDWIN she did not participate in the “riot” and was cleared by the F.B.I., BALDWIN unleashed on her in private messages accusing her and her family of being, among other things, “insurrectionists” and “rioters.” Just before taking his attack public, BALDWIN messaged Roice “I reposted your photo, Good luck.” BALDWIN’s post reached his 2.4 million followers and within a few minutes of the post, the family began receiving hundreds of harassing and life-threatening messages, including heinous threats such as, “Get raped and die, worthless c**t, your brother got what he deserved.” The lawsuit alleges that instead of stopping these comments, BALDWIN continued to incite his followers.
Dennis Postiglione, one of the McCollum’s attorneys, stated, “[r]egardless of a person's politics, what Baldwin did here should never be allowed to stand. He is one of the most recognizable people in the country and has a social media following five times the population of the State of Wyoming. He abused that platform willingly and put the McCollum’s through hell at a time when they had just begun to cope with Rylee’s death. This lawsuit will hold him accountable to the McCollum family and the proud legacy of Lance Corporal McCollum.”
The McCollum family is also represented by Joseph Casas, a former Marine infantryman turned Navy JAG prosecutor. According to Casas, “Baldwin waged war against a Marine Gold Star family and Marines everywhere, including me. He will need to take serious accountability to make this right, if he won’t, justice will.”
The federal lawsuit charges Baldwin with violation of Plaintiffs’ right to privacy, defamation, gross negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. According to Gigi, Rylee’s widow, “Rylee was the type of person to always root for the underdog— anyone who couldn’t help themselves. He would drop everything to help someone if he could. Alec Baldwin uses his power and influence to hurt people, instead of helping them. I just want him to know he can’t get away with it. People will fight back.”
For information, contact: Dennis Postiglione at (855) 267-4457 or (512) 806-7699
Dennis Postiglione
The Casas Law Firm, P.C.
+1 855-267-4457
dennis@talentrights.law
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