Hoax Artist Jussie Smollett Found Guilty Of Staging Hate Crime, Faces Up To Three Years In Jail
The trial of Jussie Smollett came to an end on Thursday, and a 12-person jury found the actor guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct, per breaking reports. The decision stems from a false police report submitted by Smollett alleging his targeting as part of a hate crime.
Smollett's story first appeared on Jan. 29, 2019, when the actor alleged being attacked by "White" men yelling homophobic remarks and "This is MAGA country" at the actor during his 2 a.m. trip to Subway. He returned to his apartment and alerted his associate, Frank Gatson.
Despite citing severe systemic racism embedded in America's police system, Gatson called Chicago authorities to report the supposed incident. They arrived at the apartment and found Smollett wearing a noose around his neck, which his friend advised him to wear to present his report of the hate crime.
Without much of a penchant for screenwriting, Smollett's manufactured story came across as an attempted "publicity stunt" to the responding officers.
“Mr. Smollett didn’t want the crime solved,” stated special prosecutor Daniel K. Webb on Wednesday. “He wanted to report it as a hate crime; he wanted media exposure; but he didn’t want the brothers apprehended.”
An investigation found that Smollett hired two brothers, Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, to cross paths with him that morning and pose as the "White" males he'd end up accusing. Both brothers are African American. As part of the trial the two admitted to Smollett's hiring, which the "Empire" star denied.
The method actor also instructed the brothers to lightly beat him up in order to present a physical case to the police.
A guilty and masked Jussie Smollett exited Leighton Criminal Courts Building late Thursday afternoon, facing a potential jailing sentence of up to three years.
OutKick founder Clay Travis looked at the implication of the jury's decision and noted statements previously made by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — two figures that followed the trail set by the Smollett hoax to accuse Americans of living in a racist and divided society.
Misleading tweets posted by the two regarding the Smollett case are still live and without warning of misinformation.
Follow along on Twitter: @AlejandroAveela