Jussie Smollett was found guilty Thursday on five of the six counts of felony disorderly conduct charges after more than eight hours of deliberation.
The former “Empire” actor was found not guilty on the charge of lying about being a victim of aggravated battery. Smollett had some facial bruising after the incident. During the trial, prosecutors argued that medical evidence showed the “attackers” did not actually try to hurt him.
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During former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett’s testimony in his own defense, Black Lives Matter (BLM) released a statement supporting the actor, who stands accused of faking a hate crime against himself.
“In our commitment to abolition, we can never believe police, especially the Chicago Police Department (CPD) over Jussie Smollett, a Black man who has been courageously present, visible, and vocal in the struggle for Black freedom. While policing at-large is an irredeemable institution, CPD is notorious for its long and deep history of corruption, racism, and brutality,” BLM said.
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A Republican lawmaker plans to introduce legislation in the Minnesota House to increase the criminal penalties for hate-crime hoaxes in response to the ongoing controversy surrounding “Empire” star Jussie Smollett. Rep. Nick Zerwas’ (R-Elk River) proposed bill would elevate the false reporting of a hate crime to a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail or a fine of up to $3,000, or both. Current Minnesota law categorizes providing false information to law enforcement officers as a misdemeanor. “Hate crimes are among society’s most heinous and despicable acts. Those that commit bias-motivated crimes deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Zerwas said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, false claims of victimization distract from genuine episodes of violent bigotry and discrimination. My bill is a reasonable step to help deter individuals from filing false police reports and to make sure that we devote law enforcement’s limited resources to investigating and prosecuting legitimate bias-motivated crimes.” In a Wednesday press release, Zerwas said he was motivated to introduce his legislation after reports indicated that the highly-publicized hate crime against Smollett was likely a hoax. As The Minnesota Sun reported, Chicago police suspect that Smollett paid the two perpetrators to…
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by Neetu Chandak The Chicago Police Department (CPD) said “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett and his music manager are not handing over phone records of a conversation that occurred Tuesday morning during an alleged attack. “Update on the ‘Empire’ Smollett case: The victim and his manager reported that they were talking on their cell phones to each other but CPD has been unable to independently verify this because they refused to turn over their cell phones,” CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a Thursday statement obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. Smollett claimed two men beat him up, tied a noose around his neck, said racial and homophobic slurs and threw an unknown chemical substance on him Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. Brandon Z. Moore, Smollett’s music manager, said he heard some of the attack while on the phone with Smollett, according to Variety. “I heard that clearly,” Moore said. “I heard the scuffle and I heard the racial slur.” TMZ reported Tuesday the attackers were white men wearing ski masks who poured bleach on Smollett and screamed: “This is MAGA (Make America Great Again) country.” Smollett reportedly had a fractured rib as well. Police said the actor did…
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