December 12, 2021
After more than eight hours of deliberation, Jussie Smollett was found guilty Thursday on five of the six counts of felony disorderly conduct charges.
The former “Empire” actor was found not guilty on the charge of lying about being a victim of aggravated battery, as he did have some facial bruising after the incident.
If you aren’t familiar with the story, Smollett was accused of making a false report to Chicago police that he was the victim of a hate crime in January 2019, an attack prosecutors said he staged.
He told officers he was attacked in the middle of one of the coldest nights of the year by two men wearing Trump hats with bleach and a noose. Detectives discovered the alleged attackers were two brothers who received $3,500 from Smollett, which police argued was payment to carry out the attack, Just the News reports.
A disorderly conduct charge for a false crime report is a Class 4 felony and punishable by up to three years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that medical evidence showed the “attackers” did not actually try to hurt him.
He faces up to three years in prison.
SOURCE: Human Events