
Actor Jussie Smollett was found guilty today of filing a false police report in what prosecutors called a racist, hate crime hoax that the star staged against himself.
After nine hours of deliberation, the Chicago jury convicted Smollett—a Black actor who for nearly three years has denied accusations that he hired two brothers as assailants in the alleged attack—of five of six counts of disorderly conduct related to filing a false police report in Jan. 2019. He was found not guilty of one count related to telling a detective two weeks later that he was the victim of an aggravated battery.
Smollett, who told jurors days ago that he’d “lost my livelihood” in the wake of the attack, showed little reaction as the verdict was read, according to reporters in the room.
He was not taken into custody ahead of sentencing, and experts have predicted the actor will likely be put on probation and be required to do community service, although the felony charge carries a potential sentence of up to three years in prison.
During a closing argument on Wednesday, Special Prosecutor Dan Webb said there was “overwhelming” evidence that Smollett had orchestrated plans for an attack that was meant to boost his profile.
Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo said in damning testimony last week that Smollett had paid them to carry out the task of roughing him up and slipping a noose around his neck after dousing him in bleach. They also claimed that Smollett had walked them through a “dry run” days before. [The Daily Beast]
{Matzav.com}
What a dope
Happy he was found guilty
A bunch of privileged, Trump supporting, racist, white supremacists made up this story.
Hmmm, nothing from Don Lemon? Nothing from Joy Reid? Nothing from Joe Biden? Crickets. Yawn. Zzzzzzz.