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Jussie Smollett Has Been Found Falsely Reporting A Hate Crime After Staging An Attack On Himself

Nearly three years after Jussie Smollett first (falsely) reported that he was the victim of a hate crime in Chicago, the former Empire actor’s case has finally seen a resolution. This is the case after Chicago law enforcement and prosecutors began to see holes in Smollett’s story, along with discrepancies involving evidence like surveillance footage (and lack thereof). Fast forward to late 2021, and the trial became a real fiasco with Smollett testifying that he’d had a lot of fun with one of the brothers that he apparently paid to attack him and also popping off at a prosecutor in open court.

In the end, Smollett’s defense couldn’t stand up against the jury’s interpretation of all that went down. Via CNN, here’s a rundown of the counts involved in this guilty verdict, all involving disorderly conduct in the form of false police reports about being the victim of a hate crime that he apparently staged:

Count 1 – Guilty: Making a false police report he was the victim of a hate crime to Officer Muhammad Baig.
Count 2 – Guilty: Making a false police report he was the victim of a battery to Baig.
Count 3 – Guilty: Making a false police report he was the victim of a hate crime to Det. Kimberly Murray.
Count 4 – Guilty: Making a false police report he was the victim of a battery to Det. Kimberly Murray.
Count 5 – Guilty: Making a false police report he was the victim of a battery to Det. Kimberly Murray.

Yep, that’s redundant but what the jury wrote. Throughout this trial, Smollett has maintained that he didn’t stage the attack, but his days of that argument are over, at least in a court of law. The New York Times reports that each of these guilty accounts (as a Class 4 felony) could amount to up to three years behind bars, along with a $25,000 fine. Once sentencing time rolls around, the Cook County judge can decide whether these sentences shall run concurrently or consecutively, potentially adding up to fifteen years behind bars (before any time’s reduced for good behavior and so on).

There are no winners in this situation. However, the far-right’s feeling vindicated by the verdict, and they’re making their feelings known.

(Via CNN & New York Times)