Jussie Smollett found guilty of fake hate crime.
Mr Smollett was just found guilty on 5 of the 6 charges he faced related to his reports to police of having been the victim of a racist\sexist attack.
He was acquitted on one count.
The verdict came after a roughly one-week trial in which two brothers testified that Smollett recruited them to fake an attack on him near his home in downtown Chicago in January 2019. Smollett repeatedly denied the claims. The brothers said Smollett orchestrated the hoax, telling them to put a noose around his neck and rough him up in view of a surveillance camera, and that he said he wanted video of the hoax made public via social media.
Smollett called the brothers “liars” and said their account was “100% false. He testified over two days about being the victim of what he said was a hate crime, telling the jury ”there was no hoax.”
Source: https://apnews.com/article/jussie-smollett-entertainment-crime-race-and-ethnicity-hate-crimes-8a32dc8a1fc1b4a9972b0c08a75f2762
Edit: Added AP link and quote.
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That man did untold damage. Right after he was revealed a lot of conservatives were coming out with articles and books saying fake hate crimes are not uncommon. I am sure that caused plenty of actual victims of actual hate crimes not to be believed and fearful to report the crimes against them.
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This article doesn't discuss the actual evidence in any detail, nor had I been following this case previously, so I don't have an opinion as to whether this was a hoax or not. I have no idea how the police came to the conclusion it was a hoax.
To those here who do have an opinion about it, one way or the other: hopefully you have studied the evidence in detail?
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What I want to know is, if Smollett wanted to get beat up by white supremists, in order to get publicity, why didn't he just egg on two real white supremists to beat him up for real, and have someone secretly record it without the attackers' knowledge? Now this is more risky because it's not controllled, but wouldn't doing that instead, still be better than paying two guys to do it, since those two guys could present evidence that they were hired to do it?
Why not just get beat up for real, no paper trial of hiring anyone, and then get your publicity that way?
To those here who do have an opinion about it, one way or the other: hopefully you have studied the evidence in detail?
It was rather obvious, even at the time it was reported, that it was a fake attack - I'll try and get some details for you (following a quick glance at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleged_assault_of_Jussie_Smollett, it seems relatively accurate).
In the mean-time, here's someone discussing what was known about the event at around the time:
Or a slightly more recent discussion about it by a couple of lawyers:
To those here who do have an opinion about it, one way or the other: hopefully you have studied the evidence in detail?
Here's a slightly more serious look at the events around the case:
The criminal trial began on November 29 and testimony lasted for just over a week. Both the defense and the prosecution called seven witnesses each.
The stars of the prosecution's case were the Osundairo brothers, who were extras on the "Empire" TV show. They each testified that Smollett directed them and paid them to stage the attack in an attempt to get media attention.
Bola Osundairo, who was closer to Smollett, told the court that Smollett "wanted me to fake beat him up." He said he agreed to do so because he felt indebted to the actor.
"I believed he could help further my acting career," Bola Osundairo testified. "He told me that we would need another person to fake beat him up. He mentioned could my brother do it. I said yes."
His brother Ola Osundairo told jurors that Smollett "had this crazy idea of having two MAGA supporters attack him," and that he wanted "to put that on social media."
"Mr. Smollett asked you to fake attack him?" deputy special prosecutor Sam Mendenhall asked.
"Yes," Ola Osundairo responded.
"Pretending to be Trump supporters?" Mendenhall continued.
"Yes," Ola Osundairo said.
"So he could then post it on social media?" the prosecutor continued.
"Yes," Ola Osundairo answered.
As per their plan, the brothers met Smollett at about 2 a.m. by his apartment during a cold snap known as a "polar vortex," they testified. There, as he had instructed, they yelled "Empire, f****t, n***er, MAGA," fake punched him, poured bleach on him and put a noose around his neck, they testified.
"If you had not had advanced discussions with Jussie Smollett how would you know where he would be at 2 a.m. in a polar vortex?" special prosecutor Dan Webb asked.
"I wouldn't," Bola Osundairo responded.
The defense, however, has repeatedly said Smollett was a real victim of an attack. They have suggested that the brothers were motivated by homophobia and/or an attempt to scare Smollett into hiring them as security.
Smollett took the stand to lay out his version of events. He emphatically said he did not plan the attack ahead of time and said he paid the brothers $3,500 for training and nutritional advice -- not for any hoax attack.
"Have you ever planned a hoax?" his attorney asked.
"Never in my life," Smollett said.
He also cast doubt on the brothers' true motivations. He said he received a "hate letter" in the mail at the "Empire" studio in Chicago on January 22, 2019, seven days before the alleged attack. Afterward, Bola Osundairo approached him about becoming his personal security guard, something Osundairo had repeatedly asked him, Smollett testified.
In addition, he testified that he formed a sexual relationship with Bola Osundairo but said he was "creeped out" by Ola Osundairo. Bola Osundairo denied he had any sexual relationship with Smollett.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/29/us/jussie-smollett-how-we-got-here/index.html
On the five charges that Smollett was convicted of, he could face up to three years in prison on each count, according to Illinois law.
Still, experts have said throughout the trial that due to his lack of criminal history and the fact that no one was seriously injured, it seems unlikely that he will end up serving jail time.
The punishments for a Class 4 felony can also include probation and community service, which will be more likely outcomes in any sentencing hearing.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/j ... a/2704278/
That story seems to work better!
Not sure that it "works"
But I guess some people will look for anything to try and achieve relevence or feel important - Unfortunately, the only thing false assertions such as these do is to devalue the seriousness of those occasions when an event does occur.
That story seems to work better!
Not sure that it "works"
But I guess some people will look for anything to try and achieve relevence or feel important - Unfortunately, the only thing false assertions such as these do is to devalue the seriousness of those occasions when an event does occur.
I meant to exonerate himself. Once the White maga guy story fell apart, he might have somehow shifted the blame to..."a small foreign faction (that actually refers to itself as 'a small foreign faction')". I was making a reference to the "ransom note" "found" by Jon Benet Ramsey's mom.
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