CASPER, Wyo ( Associated Press) — A federal judge has dismissed a defamation suit filed against actor Alec Baldwin over online harassment by the family of a Marine killed in Afghanistan, saying a Wyoming court has jurisdiction over the case. Not there.
The Casper Star-Tribune reported Wednesday that a lawyer for the family said the case would be re-reported elsewhere.
Sisters and Widow of Lance Cpl. Riley McCollum alleges that Baldwin subjected Baldwin to online harassment after she posted and commented on a photo shared online by Roice McCallum, a sister of McCollum, who was in Washington during the January 6, 2021 uprising.
Baldwin donated $5,000 to the family after receiving news of the death of Riley McCullum in a bombing at the airport in Kabul in August 2021, a few weeks before the birth of their daughter. According to the lawsuit, Baldwin contacted Rois McCallum via Instagram.
In January 2022, Baldwin noticed that Rois McCallum had posted a nearly year-old photo of protesters from former President Donald Trump’s rally on the day Congress counted the Electoral College votes from the 2020 presidential election, the complaint said. has gone.
The lawsuit states that Baldwin sent her a private message confirming that he had organized fundraising for his brother. According to court documents, she responded that her participation in the protest was “completely legal”.
Baldwin told Rois McCollum that he would share her photo with his 2.4 million Instagram followers and wrote: “Good luck,” according to the lawsuit.
Rois McCallum said in the lawsuit that he received hundreds of hateful messages in response to his posts. ComplaintWhich also named his sister Cheyenne McCallum and Riley’s wife, Gianna McCallum, as plaintiffs, seeking $25 million in damages.
Baldwin seeks dismissal of caseStating that he was expressing his political opinion, that he was not in Wyoming and that Cheyenne and Genena McCallum’s claims should be dismissed as they had not made a statement about him.
US District Judge Nancy Freudenthal said on Wednesday that the case could not be brought to Wyoming because Baldwin posted posts from New York and because they were not specifically directed at a Wyoming audience. His decision did not address the veracity of the allegations in the complaint.
“We are delighted with this victory,” Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Exit, said. “This is an important step toward outright dismissal of the lawsuit, which seeks to punish Mr. Baldwin for expressing his political opinion.”
McCullum’s attorney, Dennis Postiglione, said the case would likely be filed again in New York, where Baldwin lives, or in California, where he works.
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