'Empire' Star Jussie Smollett Guilty of Faking Racist, Homophobic Attack Against Him
"Empire" star Jussie Smollett was slammed with a guilty verdict on Thursday after faking a racist and homophobic attack he narrated with the authorities that occurred in 2019.
The ruling was honored by a jury composed of six men and six women, which deliberated for more than nine hours over Wednesday and Thursday, CNN reported.
According to New York Post, the verdict for the "Empire" star came after the jurors heard six days of testimony from at least 13 witnesses.
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'Empire' Star Jussie Smollett Faces up to 20 years in Jail
Jussie Smollett was sentenced to up to 20 years in jail, The Daily Mail reported.
He was charged with at least six felony counts of making false reports to police that he was a victim of hate crimes, specifically tackling his race and him being gay in January 2019.
Associated Press reported that each count of disorderly conduct represents what happened on January 29 and February 14 of 2019.
Furthermore, the charges are listed as class 4 felonies. Disorderly conduct charges for filing a false report are not uncommon, as they are sometimes tied to insurance fraud.
The first count accuses the "Empire" star of telling a police officer that he was a victim of hate crime, claiming that two attackers placed a rope on his neck. Count two is for telling the same officer that he was also a victim of battery, as he described that the attackers beat him and poured bleach on him.
Counts three and four were attributed to the time when Smollett made the same claims to another police officer identified as Kimberly Murray. Count five refers to the actor telling Murray that he was the victim of a battery.
Count six accused Smollett of reporting to Detective Robert Graves that he was a victim of an "aggravated battery."
Jussie Smollett Case: Suspects' Testimonies
Smollett's claims of being a victim of hate crime were countered by the prosecutors, saying that the actor paid the suspects identified as Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundario $3,500 to stage the attack so he could get attention.
During the trial, the Osundario brothers testified as the prosecution's star witness. Abimbola revealed that he met Smollett in a club in 2017 and that he considered the actor his "brother."
He then mentioned that the "Empire" star texted him and asked for help on January 25, 2019. Abimbola furthered that Smollett showed him a piece of hate mail he received saying, "You will die black f*g." Abimbola said that he looked puzzled as the actor explained to him that he wanted to "fake beat him."
"He wanted me to punch him but he wanted me to pull the punch so I didn't hurt him and then he wanted me to tussle him and throw him to the ground and give him a bruise," Abimbola said. He added that the "Empire" actor wanted to make the scene look like he was fighting back, then his brother would tie the "noose" around his neck and pour bleach on him.
Despite the claims, the empire star denied the claims of Abimbola about him paying the brothers to boost his celebrity profile. However, his attorney failed to establish a motive as to why the Osundario brothers lied.
The prosecution also provided a series of evidence, including medical evidence of Jussie Smollett without serious injuries, a February 2019 police interview, and a text to Abimbola Osundario.
"He was hoping that the Osundario brothers would not cooperate with the police... He got exposed, and now we're on trial. That's what happened," special prosecutor Dan Webb said.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written By: Joshua Summers
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