Category Archives: Jussie Smollett

Jussie Smollett conviction over staged attack upheld by Illinois court

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Empire actor loses bid to overturn conviction after he was found to have lied to police about 2019 hate crime attack he orchestrated

An appeals court upheld the disorderly conduct convictions on Friday of the actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and then lying about it to Chicago police.

Smollett, who appeared in the TV show Empire, challenged the role of a special prosecutor, jury selection, evidence and many other aspects of the case. But all were turned aside in a 2-1 opinion from the Illinois appellate court.

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Jussie Smollett will be released from jail pending the appeal of his conviction

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The former Empire actor will be freed after posting a personal recognizance bond of $150,000, meaning he agrees to come to court as required

Jussie Smollett was ordered released from jail Wednesday by an appeals court that agreed with his lawyers that he should be released pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack.

The ruling came after a Cook county judge sentenced Smollett last week to immediately begin serving 150 days in jail for his conviction on five felony counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police. In an outburst immediately after the sentence was handed down, the former star of the TV show Empire proclaimed his innocence and said, “I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself. And you must all know that.”

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Actor Jussie Smollett sentenced to 150 days in jail for lying to police about fake hate crime

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Empire actor was found guilty in December in the attack that he orchestrated and must also serve 30 months of probation

Actor Jussie Smollett has been sentenced to 30 months of probation, including 150 days of jail time, and ordered to pay restitution for his conviction of lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack that he orchestrated himself.

Smollett, who is Black and gay, reported to police that two men wearing ski masks beat him, and hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him on a dark Chicago street and ran off. The 39 year old was also ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago and fined $25,000 by Judge James Linn of Cook county circuit court.

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