Alec Baldwin

Judge dismisses $25M defamation lawsuit against Alec Baldwin by family of slain Marine

The plaintiffs can still file an amended complaint in the matter. Baldwin's attorney called it "a victory for free speech."

Alec Baldwin attends The Roundabout Gala 2023 at The Ziegfeld Ballroom on March 6, 2023 in New York City.
John Lamparski/Getty Images

A federal judge in New York this week dismissed a $25 million defamation lawsuit against Alec Baldwin about comments regarding Jan. 6 filed by relatives of a Marine killed in Afghanistan, court records show.

The defamation lawsuit revolved around social media comments Baldwin made after Roice McCollum — a sister of slain Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum — posted a photo of someone in a "Make America Great Again" hat. Baldwin had donated $5,000 to McCollum’s wife after the Marine was killed with 12 other service members in a 2021 bomb attack in Kabul.

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In January 2022, Roice McCollum posted an Instagram photo of someone wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat at the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, 2021, and Baldwin lashed out at her on social media, according to the lawsuit.

“When I sent you the $ for your late brother, out of a real respect for his service to our country, I didn’t know you were a January 6th rioter,” Baldwin allegedly wrote in messages saved by the plaintiff, according to the lawsuit.

You can read the full story at NBCNews.com.

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