Alec Baldwin has filed a motion to dismiss a defamation suit against him.
Roice McCollum and members of her family are suing the 30 Rock actor for allegedly mislabeling her as a participant in the attack on the Capitol in Washington D.C. on 6 January 2021 when he shared her image on social media.
McCollum originally posted the photo herself, but Baldwin's repost, since deleted, added a caption calling her an "insurrectionist".
Court documents insist that while she was protesting the vote certification of now U.S. President Joe Biden that day, she did not take part in rioting or any unlawful activity.
McCollum is seeking $25 million (£19 million) for defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress for Baldwin's online actions.
The actor has now argued the case should be dismissed, claiming the Wyoming court has no "personal jurisdiction" over him as a New York resident. His lawyers also argued that the plaintiffs failed to state claims for defamation, failed to state claims for false light invasion of privacy and failed to state claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
"Baldwin expressed his opinion about a matter of public concern," they stated in the filing. "Reposting a photo Roice herself publicly posted and then expressing a political opinion about it cannot be the basis for an intentional infliction claim."
In response, McCollum's attorney Dennis Postiglione told Fox News Digital, "Frankly, the motion is predictable and his arguments were expected. We will file a timely response and believe we will prevail."
