Actor Jussie Smollett's trial for allegedly staging hate crime to begin Monday
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The criminal trial for actor Jussie Smollett is slated to begin on Monday, nearly three years after the former “Empire” star allegedly staged a hate crime.
Smollett, 39, was charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report after allegedly arranging a hate crime against himself.
The actor claimed that he was hit by two men in Chicago in January 2019, and that they tied a noose around his neck and shouted racist, homophobic and pro-Trump rallying cries. However, investigators found that the two men who allegedly performed the attack were brothers who knew the actor, according to The Wall Street Journal .
The actor pleaded not guilty to staging the attack in February 2020. Jury selection is slated to begin on Monday.
Smollett faces up to three years in prison, though some experts have said that if the actor is found guilty he will likely avoid jail time and be placed on probation and perhaps given community service, according to The Associated Press .
Smollett allegedly recruited Abimbola Osundairo, an acquaintance of his, to carry out the attack because the actor was frustrated over his pay, according to the Journal.
Smollett reportedly paid the men who attacked him a $3,500 check to split, which was deposited in their bank accounts the day before the attack.
The two men attacked Smollett a little after 2 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2019, which prompted the actor to file a police report that is now believed to be false.
Smollett’s trial was delayed a number of times after the charges against him were dropped then refiled, and following a probe into Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx’s handling of the case, according to the Journal.
Foxx is said to have communicated with someone from Smollett’s family in the early part of the investigation, according to the AP, which prompted her to recuse herself from the case. After that, however, her office suddenly dropped the charges.
The COVID-19 pandemic also reportedly contributed to the trial’s delay.
Smollett is also the target of a civil lawsuit brought by the city of Chicago, which is taking issue with the large costs it incurred looking into the allegedly fake hate crime, according to the Journal. The lawsuit is asking the actor to pay costs, damages and attorneys’ fees associated with his case.
A Chicago official told the Journal that the lawsuit, which was moved from local court to federal district court in 2019, has been stayed pending the criminal trial.
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Better late than never as they say. It really speaks volumes when there is so little racism that one has to manufacture it for a narrative.
I think Kim Foxx should be prosecuted as well.
Most people have put Smolett into the dustbin of history. The race baiters of fox News and other right wing media will undoubtedly attempt to make it front page news again.
Nobody is above the law John and no race is above the law!
No one cares about this except sensationalist media and conservative race baiters.
While some of us have waited patiently for justice to be served.
His trial IS news. We refuse to pretend he did nothing wrong or excuse it for any reason.
Nice dig at Fox, though!
LOL!
Who is pretending he did nothing wrong? It is still news though because he was an actor on a popular television show, not because of what he did. What he did is relatively insignificant almost three years after it happened.
You. Mad about Fox covering the story. It is all right there in your post.
I am sure reasonably sane people believe that, and not that the news is race baiting because they reported NEWS.
I bet his crimes are insignificant to the woke crowd.
Lol. You are more ridiculous than usual. I hope they put him in jail.
This incident is almost 3 years old (Jan '19). That is an eternity in the modern news cycle.
If you want to act like this is still a big issue three years later knock yourself out.
Seems like if you don't like something, 3 years is an eternity, but when it is one of your pet faves, 3 years is a blink of an eye and completely irrelevant, as your continued crusade against Trump amply and ably demonstrates.
The little pussy should be ashamed for what he did.
This should not be swept away or covered up. He wanted to stir up trouble with his fake act so he should get the trouble he deserves
Do you know what I loved about the tale he told?
The very next day, a young Black guy who lived in that area said... wait a minute...two white guys in MAGA hats were on the street in this neighborhood at 2 AM .....Man, there is no way that happened!
Jussie Smolett lived in a high end , mostly white, neighborhood near the lakefront and in the downtown area. I dont know whether or not two white guys in MAGA hats would have been on the street at 2 am, but not because of the neighborhood , but because I think the temperature was in the mid 20's that night.
Well, after he PAID them to be there, why the shock?
In Conclusion:
This is only day 2 of the trial and Jurors also are expected this week to see surveillance video from more than four dozen cameras that police reviewed to trace the brothers' movements before and after the reported attack, as well as a video showing the brothers purchasing supplies hours earlier. The jury is made up of 7 men and 5 women. It is almost certainly a guilty verdict.
The big question will be the sentence. Will this judge give Smollett jail tme????