Alec Baldwin's Insurrectionist Jan 6 Defense Beats Gold Star Family in Court
Fallen Marine sister Roice McCollum said the family will refile after New York judge dismissed their $25 million defamation lawsuit
Alec Baldwin can publicly call a Gold Star sister an “insurrectionist” for attending a Jan. 6 rally, according to a federal court in New York.
A judge dismissed the $25 million defamation lawsuit against Baldwin filed by the family of a Marine killed in Afghanistan.
The family is repleading the case. “Baldwin gets away with everything. He is a bully to everybody,” said Roice McCollum in an interview.
CATCH UP: My global, exclusive reports on this lawsuit when it was first filed in Wyoming in Jan. 2022 and refiled in the liberal U.S. District Court for the Southern District last August here.
Gold Star Family Responds
“I think it’s dangerous that Baldwin can make such an assertive claim — calling me an insurrectionist— when all I was doing was exercising my First Amendment right to protest,” said Roice McCollum, the sister of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum who was killed in the Kabul Airport attack in 2021.
The McColllum family’s attorney Dennis Postiglione said, “While we disagree with the court’s analysis, we plan to replead an amended complaint and address the court’s concerns by its Sept. 12 deadline.”
Baldwin’s accusations
Roice and her sister Cheyenne and sister-in-law Jiennah “Gigi” sued Baldwin after he shared a photo Roice posted of a rally of Pres. Donald Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington.
Baldwin wrote that Roice is an “insurrectionist” whose “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.”
‘Insurrectionist’ Defined
Judge Edgardo Ramos, a Pres. Barack Obama appointee, adopted Baldwin’s definition of insurrectionist to mean anyone who attended a rally on Jan. 6. The 22-page ruling is at the bottom for paid subscribers, along with the lawsuit.
The judge wrote:
Plaintiffs’ allegations do not support their proposition that Baldwin knew or believed his comments referring to Roice as an “insurrectionist” were false when he posted them.
To the contrary, their allegation—“[Baldwin] posted what he believed was [Roice’s] image on her Instagram feed to his 2.4 million followers and continued labelling [Roice] an ‘insurrectionist’”—suggests that Baldwin posted what he believed was true.
Plaintiffs do not sufficiently plead that Baldwin intentionally posted false and defamatory statement with actual malice.
The case was originally filed in the McCollum’s home state of Wyoming but a federal judge granted Baldwin’s motion to dismiss on the basis of lack of jurisdiction.
Right to protest
Roice did not participate in the riots or enter the U.S. Capitol. She was interviewed by the FBI and cleared of any wrongdoing.
“I just attended a rally. I did nothing wrong,” said Roice. “He is calling me guilty without any facts.”
She said Baldwin’s actions were deliberate to hurt her family.
“Baldwin is very politically active on the opposite side of the spectrum,” said Roice. “He has been the subject of online harassment. He knew that publishing my name with his opinion would have a serious backlash, and he did it anyway.”
Baldwin also faces multiple civil lawsuits and possible criminal charges for shooting and killing his cinematographer on the “Rust” in Oct. 2021.