Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax

Jussie Smollett in 2016

On January 29, 2019, American actor Jussie Smollett approached the Chicago Police Department and reported a hate crime that he had staged earlier that morning.[1][2] He planned the fake hate crime with two Nigerian-American brothers, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, who had worked as extras on the set of television drama Empire, in which Smollett was a cast member. During the staged attack, which took place on East Lower North Water Street in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood, the disguised brothers shouted racial and homophobic slurs while one poured bleach on Smollett and the other placed a noose around his neck. In addition to falsely reporting that he had been attacked by two unknown individuals, Smollett described one of them as a white male.[3][2] He also told police the men shouted "This is MAGA country"[4] during the attack, a reference to the Trumpist political slogan "Make America Great Again".[5] The brothers later testified that Smollett staged the attack near a surveillance camera so that video of it could be publicized.[6]

On February 13, 2019, Chicago police raided the home of the Osundairo brothers and found records indicating they had been paid $3,500 by Smollett. They had purchased the rope found around Smollett's neck at a hardware store in Ravenswood over the weekend of January 25, and were also seen in security camera footage in the clothing store where they bought gloves, ski masks, and a red hat that police said was used in the attack.[7][8] On February 20, Smollett was indicted for disorderly conduct for paying the brothers to stage a fake hate crime and filing a false police report.[9] His defense team reached a deal with prosecutors on March 26, 2019, in which all charges were dropped in return for Smollett performing community service and forfeiting his $10,000 bond.[10]

On April 12, 2019, the city of Chicago sued Smollett for the $130,000 cost of the investigation. In November, he countersued, alleging he was the victim of "mass public ridicule and harm".

On February 11, 2020, after further investigation by a special prosecutor was completed, Smollett was indicted again by a Cook County grand jury on six counts pertaining to making four false police reports.[11][12] In December 2021, Smollett was convicted on five felony counts.[13] On March 10, 2022, Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in county jail[14] and was ordered to pay $120,106 in restitution for the overtime spent by Chicago police officers investigating his false reports.[15] Smollett's attorneys immediately filed an appeal and he was released, pending the outcome of his appeal, on March 16 after posting a personal recognizance bond.

In November 2024, the Supreme Court of Illinois overturned Smollett's conviction.[16] The court agreed that Smollett's fifth amendment rights had been violated when he was prosecuted after reaching a plea deal. In response to the ruling, special prosecutor Dan Webb stated, "The ruling has nothing to do with Mr. Smollett's innocence. The Illinois Supreme Court did not find any error with the overwhelming evidence presented at trial that Mr. Smollett orchestrated a fake hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as a real hate crime, or the jury's unanimous verdict that Mr. Smollett was guilty of five counts of felony disorderly conduct. In fact, Mr. Smollett did not even challenge the sufficiency of the evidence against him in his appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court." [17]

  1. ^ O'Brien, Brendan (December 10, 2021). "Actor Jussie Smollett found guilty of staging hate crime". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021. Jussie Smollett, one-time star of the TV drama Empire, was found guilty on Thursday of staging a hate crime against himself in what prosecutors said was a bid to gain sympathy and boost his career. Prosecutors said Smollett, who is Black and gay, lied to police when he told them that he was accosted on a dark Chicago street by two masked strangers in January 2019... The Cook County Circuit Court jury, which deliberated for nine hours, found Smollett, 39, guilty of five of the six felony disorderly conduct counts he faced, one for each time he was accused of lying to police.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference usatoday20190411 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference CNN attack was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Moniuszko, Sara; Deerwester, Jayme (January 29, 2019). "'Empire' star Jussie Smollett: Attackers yelled, 'This is MAGA country' during beating". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  5. ^ Rothman, Michael (January 30, 2019). "'Empire' star Jussie Smollett brutally attacked, hospitalized in possible hate crime". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference CST20211205 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Babwin, Don; Burnett, Sara (December 9, 2021). "Jussie Smollett Convicted of Lying to Police Over 'Staged' Attack". Time. Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  8. ^ Babwin, Don; Burnett, Sara (December 7, 2021). "Jussie Smollett testifies at his trial: 'There was no hoax'". AP News. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  9. ^ Nemetz, Dave (February 20, 2019). "Jussie Smollett Indicted, Charged With Felony for Filing False Police Report". TVLine. United States. Archived from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference ChicagoTribune was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Meilhan, Pierre (February 11, 2020). "Jussie Smollett indicted by grand jury on six counts for making false reports, special prosecutor says". CNN. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  12. ^ Jacobs, Julia (February 11, 2020). "Jussie Smollett Indicted Again in Attack That Police Called a Hoax". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  13. ^ Jacobs, Julia; Guarino, Mark (December 9, 2021). "Key Moments as Jussie Smollett Is Found Guilty in Fake Hate Crime Case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  14. ^ Babwin, Bob; Foody, Kathleen (March 10, 2022). "Jussie Smollett sentenced to 150 days in jail in fake attack". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  15. ^ "Jussie Smollett sentencing: Ex-'Empire' actor gets 150 days in jail for hate crime hoax". Associated Press. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  16. ^ https://ilcourtsaudio.blob.core.windows.net/antilles-resources/resources/dadcff96-2fa0-46b4-9d62-2c3aa687a0cd/People%20v.%20Smollett,%202024%20IL%20130431.pdf
  17. ^ Feurer, Todd (November 21, 2024). "Actor Jussie Smollett's conviction overturned by Illinois Supreme Court - CBS Chicago". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved November 21, 2024.