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It’s been three years since Jussie Smollett reported that he was the victim of a hate crime in January 2019, and he was sentenced to 150 days in jail on Thursday evening.
The former ‘Empire’ actor was also ordered to pay a $ 25,000 fine and spend 30 months on felony probation after being found guilty on five counts of felony disorderly conduct for making false reports to the Chicago police. Smollett alleged that he was the target of an anti-gay and anti-black hate crime, which a judge has deemed as false.
Judge James Linn called Jussie arrogant, selfish and narcissistic while making the judgment, and stated that Jussie faked the attack because he wanted attention.
“You picked out the actors… They idolized you,” Judge Linn said. “You paid them in advance. You chose the date. You chose the time. You chose a location. ”
Despite the verdict, Jussie maintained that he is innocent, and ensured the courtroom that he is not suicidal in the event that something happens to him while he is serving his jail sentence.
“Your honor, I respect you and I respect the jury, but I did not do this,” Smollett told the judge before turning to the court. “And 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. ”
Upon leaving the courtroom, Jussie continued to shout that he was innocent while holding up a black power fist.
As we previously reported, Jussie was indicated on 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct in March 2019, after police determined the hate crime reports were false. Just weeks later the charges were dropped by the office of Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx. Special prosecutor Dan Webb was appointed to the case in
August 2019, and a second grand jury indicated Smollett on six felony charges.
The Osundairo brothers, the men accused of attacking Jussie, were among seven witnesses who testified that Jussie paid them to stage the attack.
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