The family and widow of a US Marine who was killed in Afghanistan are attempting to sue Alec Baldwin.
Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum's sisters and wife allege that the actor exposed them to an influx of social media hatred after he claimed that one of the sisters was an 'insurrectionist' for going to a Trump rally on 6 January 2021.
The sister who went, Roice McCollum, says she was not one of the people that stormed the US Capitol and instead, she protested peacefully and legally.
According to reports she was interviewed by the FBI but 'was never detained, arrested, accused of or charged with any crime'.
After Rylee passed away, a GoFundMe page was set up to support his family without him being around and Baldwin donated $5,000 to that.
But after Roice posted a 'throwback' picture from the protest in Washington on 2 January 2022, Baldwin commented asking: "Are you the same woman that I sent the $ to for your sister’s husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit?"
Roice claims that the actor then privately messaged her asking if she was the same woman and when she confirmed she was, she told him that 'protesting is perfectly legal'.
According to Associated Press, the lawsuit goes on to say that Baldwin responded by remarking that 'her activities resulted in the unlawful destruction of government property, the death of a law enforcement officer, an assault on the certification of the presidential election', then allegedly told her he's reposted the photo to his 2.4 million Instagram followers.
It also pointed out: "Baldwin plainly ignored Roice’s denial of rioting and the assertion that she was cleared by the FBI for participating in any of the conduct Baldwin chose to falsely attribute to her via his massive following."
Roice claims she's received 'hundreds upon hundreds of hateful messages' off the back of her interaction with Baldwin. She posted one on Instagram from someone who told her to 'get raped and die', before the person added: "Your brother got what he deserved."
When she shared the hateful direct message, Baldwin commented saying: "I find that abhorrent. My feelings were expressed by my gesture on behalf of your brother," in reference to his donation.
The lawsuit claims that Baldwin 'lit the match and blew on the fire' which resulted in messages and death threats to Roice McCollum as well as Rylee McCollum’s other sister, Cheyenne McCollum, and widow, Jiennah McCollum.
LADbible has reached out to Alec Baldwin's representatives for a comment.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Celebrity, Social Media
Rebecca Shepherd