Alec Baldwin.Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
A judge has dismissed a defamation case againstAlec Baldwin.
The family ofRylee McCollum, a Marine killedin Afghanistan last August,sued Baldwin, 64 for defamationin January. They claimed the actor falsely accused members of the family of being present at the Jan. 6, 2021,Capitol Riotsin Washington, D.C.; the family was demanding a jury trial.
“Therefore, the Court GRANTS Defendant Baldwin’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction,” the document adds.
Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel, says in a statement to PEOPLE of the verdict, “We are pleased with this victory.”
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Rylee McCollum.1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton/U.S. Marines/AP/Shutterstock
“This is a significant step toward the complete dismissal of the lawsuit, which seeks to punish Mr. Baldwin for expressing his political opinion,” Nikas adds.
McCollum, 20,was killed outside of Afghanistan’s international airport in an Aug. 26, 2021, bombingas U.S. military troops were processing evacuees to be flown out of the country followingthe Taliban takeover.
According to the complaint, Baldwin allegedly accused Roice of participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, calling her an “insurrectionist” and a “Jan. 6 rioter” in a private Instagram DM after making his donation.
He also allegedly reposted her photos of the demonstration to his Instagram account, telling Roice, “I reposted your photo. Good luck.”
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Baldwin has since deleted the photos although Roice, her sister Cheyenne and Crayton say they have received harmful messages and death threats since the actor reposted. Neither Cheyenne nor Crayton was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the suit.
On Jan. 1,Roice shared a photo of herselfat the Capitol on Instagram, writing in the caption, “Throwback 😝🤘🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲.”
In the suit, Roice said she attended a protest at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but did not participate in the riots that followed the demonstration and was cleared after an interview with the FBI, according to the court documents.
Since Baldwin shared Roice’s image on Instagram, she, Cheyenne and Craytonsaid in the lawsuit thatthey have received “hostile, aggressive, hateful” messages on social media.
source: people.com
