Nearly three years after Jussie Smollett first (falsely) reported that he was the victim of a hate crime in Chicago, the former Empire actor’s case has finally seen a resolution. This is the case after Chicago law enforcement and prosecutors began to see holes in Smollett’s story, along with discrepancies involving evidence like surveillance footage (and lack thereof). Fast forward to late 2021, and the trial became a real fiasco with Smollett testifying that he’d had a lot of fun with one of the brothers that he apparently paid to attack him and also popping off at a prosecutor in open court.
In the end, Smollett’s defense couldn’t stand up against the jury’s interpretation of all that went down. Via CNN, here’s a rundown of the counts involved in this guilty verdict, all involving disorderly conduct in the form of false police reports about being the victim of a hate crime that he apparently staged:
Count 1 – Guilty: Making a false police report he was the victim of a hate crime to Officer Muhammad Baig.
Count 2 – Guilty: Making a false police report he was the victim of a battery to Baig.
Count 3 – Guilty: Making a false police report he was the victim of a hate crime to Det. Kimberly Murray.
Count 4 – Guilty: Making a false police report he was the victim of a battery to Det. Kimberly Murray.
Count 5 – Guilty: Making a false police report he was the victim of a battery to Det. Kimberly Murray.
Yep, that’s redundant but what the jury wrote. Throughout this trial, Smollett has maintained that he didn’t stage the attack, but his days of that argument are over, at least in a court of law. The New York Times reports that each of these guilty accounts (as a Class 4 felony) could amount to up to three years behind bars, along with a $25,000 fine. Once sentencing time rolls around, the Cook County judge can decide whether these sentences shall run concurrently or consecutively, potentially adding up to fifteen years behind bars (before any time’s reduced for good behavior and so on).
There are no winners in this situation. However, the far-right’s feeling vindicated by the verdict, and they’re making their feelings known.
Jussie Smollett owes an apology to President Donald J. Trump and every single MAGA supporter.
— Andrew Pollack (@AndrewPollackFL) December 9, 2021
Never forget that Kamala Harris called Jussie Smollett’s FAKE situation a “modern-day lynching”.
Today a jury found him GUILTY of lying about the whole thing.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) December 9, 2021
Jussie Smollett’s obvious hoax was an intelligence test that millions of liberals failed from day one-
Including Biden and Kamala
— Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) December 9, 2021
Jussie Smollett guilty on 5 felony counts. He perpetrated a hate crime hoax & made the road that much tougher for real victims.
As for the press & politicos who gleefully bought his obvious nonsense & used it as an excuse to bash America, shame on you too.— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) December 9, 2021
Tonight, Jussie Smollett can rest knowing that his attacker has been convicted.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 9, 2021
(Via CNN & New York Times)