Jury Finds Actor Jussie Smollett Guilty on 5 of 6 Charges That He Faked Attack – NBC 7 San Diego

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Jurors have found former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett guilty, five out of six, of orchestrating a racist and anti-gay attack on himself in downtown Chicago nearly three years ago.

The decision comes after the jury heard several days of testimony from several witnesses and Smollett himself, who cited claims that he orchestrated the attack “100% wrongly.”

The jury in Smollett’s trial was tasked with determining whether Smollett was guilty of six minor felonies because prosecutors produced a false police report on the alleged attack. He faces charges of misconduct every time he reports to three different officers.

Special Prosecutor Dan Webb told the jury on Wednesday that the evidence against Smollett was “overwhelming” and that his act in January 2019 led the Chicago police to devote enormous amounts of time and resources to investigating a suspected crime that was found to be fake . Smollett, who is black and gay, told police that someone put a noose around his neck and shouted racist and homophobic slurs.

“Aside from being against the law, it is just plain wrong to directly denigrate something as serious as a real hate crime and then make sure it contains words and symbols that have such historical significance in our country,” said Webb .

He also accused Smollett of lying to jurors, saying the surveillance video from before the alleged attack and that night contradicted key moments in Smollett’s testimony.

“Ultimately, he lacks any credibility,” said Webb.

Jussie Smollett’s defense attorney told jurors that the actor’s charges were based on testimony from brothers who were “clever liars” and “the worst kind of criminals.”

Attorney Nenye Uche said in her closing argument that one of the brothers, when testifying in the Chicago courtroom last week, said “so many times that I don’t remember, it’s ridiculous”.

“The entire prosecution case, including the basics of the case, is built like a house of cards,” said Uche.

Smollett took the stand this week, repeatedly denying the attack was a fake, telling a prosecutor “I was not kidding” and that two brothers who testified against him were “liars”.

The misconduct charge is a Class 4 crime punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment, but experts say that if convicted, Smollett would likely be paroled and sentenced to community service.

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