Jussie Smollett is a famous American actor as well as a singer. He started his acting career as a child actor in the year 1992 with the movie The Mighty Duck. He has been a part of the entertainment industry since then. He was accused of falsely reporting a hate crime in 2019.
He was accused of disorderly conduct for making a false report to Chicago police claiming that he was the victim of a hate crime committed in January of 2019. It was an attack that he himself had staged according to the prosecutors.
Jussie Smollet Found Guilty
Jussie was dressed in a suit and tie for his court appearance. He seemed rigid after the verdict was read late in the afternoon. He was seen stiff without a movement while gazing straight ahead. His hands were on the table and his fingers were interlaced.
He emphasized the direction of the jury rather than looking at his family or the judge. He testified before the Chicago jury that he never lied to police. He also denied orchestrating the attack on himself. He was found guilty of five out of six felonies on Thursday.
Jussie Smollet was found guilty of the following five felonies:
1. Guilty for making a false report to Officer Muhammed Baig that he was the victim of a hate crime.
2. Guilty for making a false police report claiming that he was the victim of a battery to Officer Baig.
3. Guilty for making a false police report that he was the victim of a hate crime to detective Kimberly Murray.
4. Guilty for making a false police report he was the victim of a battery to detective Kimberly Murray.
5. Guilty for making a false police report that he was the victim of a battery to detective Kimberly Murray.
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What Will Happen To Jussie Smollet?
A disorderly conduct charge for a false crime report is a punishable offense and is a Class 4 felony. He can be punished by up to three years in prison and a $25,000 fine upon proven guilty. He will be given a sentence for each count at a later date.
His attorney Nenye Uche is still very optimistic about the case. He has said that he respectfully disagrees with the jury's verdict. He also added that he is hundred percent confident that the case will be won on appeal. Nenye has said:
At the end of the day, we believe justice will prevail. We don't believe it was done today but we're very confident that he will be cleared and he will be found to be innocent
He has also admitted that Jussie is disappointed at the verdict. But his team still remains confident in his innocence. They all are hopeful that he will get a fair result in appellate court. CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson however has a different opinion.
Joey has said that Jussie might have exposed himself to jail time when he testified in court. The judge might give him probation but he might not be proven innocent according to Joey. He thinks that Jussie cooked up an unbelievable story:
The jury did not buy what he was selling
Laura Coates, who is a former federal prosecutor has also agreed with Joey. She thinks that Jussie's testimony was just a miscalculation by the defense team. Prosecutors attempted to show that he made false police reports to gain media coverage. We might have to wait for a while to see what happens to this case and to the actor himself.
Who Is The Alleged Attacker?
The name of the alleged attacker is Ola Osundairo. Jussie had claimed that Ola was homophobic and has testified the same. Ola is a thirty years old Nigerian. He denies the accusation with some noteworthy proof. He has mentioned that he partook in the city's Pride Parade in 2015.
He has also said that he posed in the parade while wearing a Trojan outfit. Ola has even worked as a bouncer for a gay nightclub. Hence, it is unlikely that he would have a homophobic conscience. It will be hard to prove that Ola has anything against homosexuality.
Jussie on the other hand is an openly gay African-American man. He is accused of telling a lie to cops. He had accused that he was the victim of a hate crime in Chicago. Making hateful and hurtful comments against particular sexuality is a crime in many countries.
The accused watched the verdict being read while sitting in the court overflow room. He sat down quietly and expressionless. Ola and his brother Bola are accused of carrying out a sham anti-gay and racist attack. The accusation by Jussie is considered a publicity stunt by the court.